You are filled with potential that once felt like expectation the ruggedness of a thousand wild stallions running to the course of their strong united heartbeats and of the sweat and blood that you've merited your endeavors with
I am filled with ribbons of gentle caresses and a familiarity with the unnoticed weight long hair brings determination like that of the tired ceaseless tide that rises up again each morning and of sweet and salty compulsions
We are separated Like the Heavens and Earth
You are more than the smell of leather and Copenhagen You are more than the litter of miscellaneous items next to an inevitable jar of change sitting on your wooden dresser an exact replica of the Skaggs males' before you. You are more than calloused hands and a beautiful voice that crawls out and harmonizes with cicadas in the heavy heat lingering into the August night. You are more than the millions of melodies you've blessed us with More than the far away look in your hazel eyes as you master your guitar More than your hearty laugh that delights my soul More than your kind spirit More than your careful words More than your wise wife More than your delicate girl that I hear call me Aunt But these things stack on top of one another Like bricks of a building under construction Beams of titanium not unlike a skeleton protude into the clouds Ultimately creating the tower I will proudly claim as my older brother Directing my acquaintances' attention to the structure that in this moment unfinished even eclipses the sun Casts a shadow over me a cool blanket of security I know the closer that I draw to you the less I will see of the shambles of other buildings that never compared to you My view of the misleading wooden structures behind you that will be set afire or deteriorate in the constant turning of gears in the clock of time will be obscured by your sheer splendor
We are separated Like the sky and the earth underneath me
And just like the two we are connected further down The horizon where we will meet is filled with bittersweet triumph painted in the oranges and pinks of the sunset I turn and see the horizon behind me where we began in all of its plainess Our childhood in a gray Hillcrest Terrace Friday night prayer Denim and pattles Oatmeal and cough drops Iced tea and lilac bushes All threaded neatly into the full drops of rain that fall from you to I Connecting the ground and the sky I turn back to the front and admire what I imagine it will be Our children's loose teeth and long cramped car rides Porch swings and homeschool books Owned land and old trees Laughter and loyalty Irony and victory
We are separated Like the sky and the ground
But we run in the same direction not interrupting the others' path I was not there with you when you let the heaviness of the thoughts in your head fall into your awaiting hands as your shoulders shook Every ragged breath tinged with cheap whiskey But I have followed suit of my own accord I was not there with you when you questioned your very identity until you wondered if you wouldΒ Β recognize yourself if he called you by name But I may have been caught contemplating the same I was not there with you when you were overanalyzing one of our sisters' new boyfriend's character and gauging his deservingness But I often did exactly that And I was not there with you when you fell in love with your beautiful lady and decided to make her yours But I was praying for it to be her
An endless fire burns inside me Searching for courage I won't have and words I can't find Until I can heat you with these flames I will continue to look at you while you are preoccupied and let the words choke in my neck as reverence floods me for this man who like his father remains oblivious to his massive impact and priceless company