My Brother and Me!

 © Shilpa Sandesh,

Oh Brother I say,
My pen would one day,
Would splatter its ink,
On paper,
Into beauteous words,
A poem on you!

My dear little sister, he says,
I am not among those thieves
that you can know and write,
I am among those cats,
That you ought to envision,
and scrawl;

Imaginations run,
And I envisage,
My brother you are,
My teacher,
My preacher,
My guardian angel,
The bearer of courage,
My comfort, my solace,
A support that liberates me,
From every stumble;
You are humble,
You are meek,
Your heart is gentle,
Encrusted in,
A tougher shield;

Oh little one he says,
You reduce me to puddles,
I wish rains change,
to a downpour,
So you do not see my tears,
Breaking banks like the Ganges!

My dearest brother,
those tears are precious,
Priceless as pearls,
Let them not break
The perimeters,
Or I would get shattered,
I would be washed away;

You have been through enough,
You have observed a lot,
It's time to rest,
It's time to sleep,
Let me sing a lullaby,
Let me put you to sleep;

My sweet sister he says,
The cat comes to rest,
at the lap of a soul,
who treated it not,
as an animal it was,
but as a human being,
It aspired to be;

Sleep brother I sing,
Step into your dreams,
Kiss the love of your life,
Close your eyes and sleep!