| My
Brother
A
Tribute to a Murder Victim
by
Stephen Geez
www.StephenGeez.com
Art
by D.R. Wagner
Grief story,
Brother
memorial
I
used to stand in my place in the stream, where one generation flows
to the next, where lifetimes cascade from unseen summits to pool
in the deep stillness that stretches beyond every sunset, for there
in the stream I could watch a single blossom float by, and I would
think of my brother and smile.
A
few years behind me, a short ways up in the waters above, he'd found
his own good spot in the stream. Though not always able to see him,
I could still feel when his words passed in the ripples, hear when
his voice echoed from the trees, and laugh at the tales of so many
travelers lucky enough to pass his way. Through it all, the waters
kept washing around me, and I would know that my brother was there.
He's
the one who always loved to watch things grow, a gardener at heart,
a gentle man who would coax life from seedlings and dare magnificent
flowers to flaunt their beauty for the world. And he's the one who
always loved people, a friend at heart, a caring man who dared coax
the best from all he touched. Yes, this I've seen, but with so many
tales to tell, I know I'll never hear them all.
So
I used to stand in my place in the stream, and think of my brother
and smile.
But
then on one of those brightest of days, the sky fell most wrenchingly
dark, and the trees whispered of another man's pain lashing out
blindly, an instant of cruel violence that never cared to learn
its victim's name. I searched in vain at his place in the stream,
but when the shadow had passed, my brother was gone.
I
closed my eyes and wept, my tears mingling with those of so many
who'd felt him slip beyond our grasp. And the waters churned fiercely,
but I stood fast, if only because my brother had left me this moment
at his place in the stream. For when I opened my eyes, there before
me bloomed the most magnificent garden, and the people he loved
had gathered to witness his work, and to promise we'll never forget.
My
brother had left the world a better place, a remarkable legacy for
one man in the short time he'd spent there at his own place in the
stream. We'll all tend to his flowers, we vowed, and by
remembering, we'll know he can't ever die.
So
we stood in the stream and saw a mournful old flower drop a single
blossom into the water. We all watched as it chased after my brother
and disappeared into the deep pools of stillness that stretch beyond
every sunset, there where our sister, his twin, had passed before
us, a reminder the stream stops for no one, and that each place
is ours but for a while.
Now
I stand here again at my own place in the stream, and though my
brother is gone, I remember he did find his own moments of joy,
and he shared them with those who bothered to care.
So
when a single blossom floats by, I'll think of him and smile, for
I do know his name.
Gregory
Dean was a good man, and I'll always be proud he was my
brother.
*
* *
©
2006 The Fresh Ink Group, LLC, All Rights Reserved
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