to the brother who grew up

It was inevitable.
Time, distance,
a tug of war game,
balancing the robe in the middle.
Three hundred forty five miles was more
than enough,
you were finishing your senior year
of high school.
I believed that we could talk more,
get to know each other better
and I hoped you wouldn't drop
your side of the rope.
Eventually,
you did.
Rope finally touched the floor,
and while I held on,
you grew more distant.
I feared you lost me
somewhere in between
buried basketball dreams
and
blossoming aspirations of becoming an orthodontist.
There was no time left
for socializing
because you were up ‘till 2
in the morning-
studying for exams,
but I didn't want to believe that
we had no time..
Keeping in touch
was definitely easier said than done.
You’re older.
Foolish games of
tugging ropes
were not a part of the plan
Your future was already set.
While I
still sleep with the toy monkey
you won
for me at the fair,
Last Winter.