for my brother
I wasn’t able to get Johnny Cash
to return from the dead to sing
“Ring of Fire,” but I did order a big
bouquet of orange and yellow flowers
in a ceramic pumpkin to arrive at your door.
With a candle. It can be so vast,
the difference between what we wish for
and reality. As it is, I would wish you
deep love in your life, ease in your body,
peace between your sons. I would
wish you joy in your work and forgiveness
in your heart bigger than any football stadium.
That’s why the carnations and mums
and roses will arrive tomorrow. Because
I love you. Because you and I both know
that the flames get higher. Because
it burns, burns, burns. And though
I am a thousand miles away, all we have
in the end is each other.