baby brother bundled in his puffy coat
a hood fell over his eyes
had that scarf rapped across his neck so tight
he looked like a tick about to pop
waving at me with his gloved hands
we pretended we were smoking
watching visible air with each breath
in the bedroom we shared
the backseat of that beat up stanky green torrino
with a hefty bag for the driver side window
blowin' in the winter wind
we'd pushed the seat down
lay on our backs
looked through the glass
picked out our very own stars
"dat one mine, d'won."
he whispered
"darryl, u stupid...
that's an airplane...
see, it blinks...
but u get to pick another one!!!"
"ok, DAT ONE...dat ma stah, d'won??
could i ha' dat one???"
"yup..."
"ohtay...now which one u stah???"
"the one right beside yours"
"ohtay."
"wanna play red light-green light now??"
and we would wiggle on our backs
in time with the street light
stopping only when the glass shon red
as we laid there claiming our stars
those were the days
until that morning
> BAM, BAM!!! <
"lady, this is a public park...
you can't stay here..."
"i'm sorry, officer..."
but sorry wasn't good enough
i waved goodbye to baby brother
for a little while
they gave me a bed & a house full of love
but it only made me lonely
i made it through those nights
by looking up at the sky
cuz no matter where darryl was
our stars were always side by side
he's a grown man now
but to me he'll always be my lil buddy
layin' in the backseat
whisperin' across the years
"dat my stah, d'won...."
-dawn m frost