my brother, in his small white bed
held one end.
I tugged the other
to signal I was still awake.
we could have spoken,
we could have sung
to one another,
we ere in the same room
for five years
but the soft cord
with its little frayed ends
connected us
in the dark,
gave us comfort
even if we had been bickering
all day.
when he fell asleep first
and his end of the cord
dropped to the floor,
I missed him terribly,
though I could hear his even breathe
and we had such long and separate lives
ahead.