It's difficult to tell When something as big as this started. He was witnessed holding my little brother As though he were a fawn drinking milk From a snub-nosed brown bottle. He was indifferent with a cuff, It could've been a hug. His aquaintances used his talents For personal gain; They sat at our table, Enjoying chops and fried onions. He was never in the audience, Never in the stands beaming; He was as dysfunctional as Claudius Among melancholy princesses and princes Who clasped palms to foreheads. If I'd known Alas and Woe, That's when I'd voice them. One night, I considered pouring poison In his ear.