Clean Start

Sue always said she wanted a brother

An older one just the same age as you

I thought it strange, never understood her

Wasn’t much good a big brother could do

Just my opinion but I had reasons

Was reminded of them the day things changed

Far beyond the slow shifting of seasons

When the world we once knew got rearranged

And I first looked at you in a new light

Though the summer sun's glare was familiar

Dull brown leaves below, above green and bright

We marched a worn path lined by sweet-briar

On an ordinary walk to the creek

With loads of laundry and dishes to do

Story written in stains from our past week

You always walked ahead 'cause you “had to”

Your longer legs never matched pace with mine

And you didn’t struggle with your load’s weight

I did mightily but that was just fine

Although the path was neither flat nor straight

But when you disappeared around a bend

I wasn’t alone, Shep stayed by my side

He was your dog but you couldn’t pretend

That he didn’t prefer me, though you tried

I used soft words and rubbed behind his ears

You barked loud as a dog giving commands

I appealed to his heart, you to his fears

But you learned that harsh way from Pa’s hard hands

Holding burdens in our arms and within

Your dark trailing shadow; my guide forward

At the bank we would reverently listen

To trickling water ever moving toward

The distant ocean to find its freedom

And we’d begin the task of scrubbing clean

All blots and marks, seeking to absolve them

Erasing dirt and blood until unseen

And in all the heap of faded fabric

There wasn’t one dress or one blouse of Ma’s

The absence stabbed with grief’s most painful prick

The scent of alcohol soured all of Pa’s

A smell that triggered pangs from old bruises

You finished first as you usually did

Pans less dirty from infrequent uses

Explained the thinness our baggy clothes hid

You laid back in the grass and closed your eyes

Shep kept watch between us, guarding the calm

It was precious respite of exhaled sighs

For our weariness, a chore was the balm

Then with a crack the stillness was shattered

Four feet and four paws retraced our steps fast

Blood, bullet wound, and face badly battered

Pa, with no pulse, became part of our past

It would be on you that I depended

Since that man Pa owed money stopped his heart

The day the silence broke some things ended

But for you and me there was a clean start

Author's Note: This was written for Mackenzie Davis's Ekphrastic Challenge. The wonderful photo that inspired this piece was taken by Paul Stewart.