I had a father
He was a jolly man
Full of laughter and mirth
Full of bitterness and sorrow
His eyes were bright as sienna jewels full of ambition
His laugh haunts my memory still
But then there was another side of him
Which has brought me emotional turmoil
To last the rest of my years
In spite of that,
He was my father
He was always there
He was haunted by the past and the present
Still he loved to make people happy
And then he left forever on a trip to Mobile
Innocently lying when he said he would come back soon
He spent the weekend there
A weekend that slipped into eternity
Though even now
It’s like he would return home soon
Like he will come back to the house in his way
But that can only happen in dreams now
And it is so apparent
How he was the light of his family…

I have a brother
Who came before I
Though we share the same father
It is so obvious that we do not share the same mother
He who ignores me
Living his own life
The king of lies
A charming crook
I see in his devilish grin
The words he believes I like to hear
Not the truth
Our relationship is a shattered piece of black tinted glass
Before I knew him, it was shaped in a beautiful figurine
Abstract and colorful
As I got to know him
It broke into many pieces
Then broke again with every lie
The color turned to black with every truthful revelation
My brother
Who is so much like my father
Yet nothing like him…

I have another brother
I’ve known him since before I could remember
My little brother
The breaker of my things…
I have sacrificed so much for him
Sometimes he is grateful
Sometimes he’s annoying
Always he is there
He’s so tall
Life made him taller than me
It’s not fair
I’m older
He is my greatest ally of the past
He is my worst enemy beyond myself
We are bound by love and blood
Forever related
Until one of us dies
Still I would miss him
I know he would miss me
My beloved brother
Let’s never live in the same state…

I had a grandfather
He would lie to me about his age
He lived his own life
Revolved around his daughter
He did not smoke
He did not drink
He swore like a sailor
And died of cancer of the tongue
He ignored me for the lifetime we shared
But he did acknowledge my presence
That we were related
I was able to say goodbye before he died
I didn’t cry when he left
I had a dream about him once
He gave me a puppy
It made me feel better…

I had an uncle
Who showed me
What a grandfather is suppose to be
He taught me how to gamble
He showed me unconditional love
He who had no grandchildren
Yet my brother and I were all he needed
We were blessed to have him in our lives
He lived far away
But that didn’t stop him from seeing us
As opposed to our own grandfather
Who lived in the same city as we lived
And had better things to do that spend time
With his grandchildren
That uncle of mine was my father’s uncle first
Showed my father the same kind of love
In his childhood days
Taught him how to gamble
Taught him how to love
I cried when he left us
But I know he has found peace
He came live near us at the end
I visit him from time to time…