for Aaron
with sun sore eyespots morning
my brother is telling me about the time he killed a raccoon
with two rocks one geode one petrified
glazed by coffee cracked mouth corners
there’s still cigarette smoke in my hair
considering our stagnant it drags
my fingers flip a magazine against
marble countertop drumming page by page
he’s bragging now
about the swiftness of his hand
the quickness of death
my head nodding
no effort no sweat one- two- his pinky twitches
then nothing
from the west window the sea
not walking distance but close
i squint perpendicular to shore a fishing boat
where men are catching
and catching and catching
i am imagining calloused hands thick nets
iridescent shells gathered by mistake
those ocean-flecked bodies sliding
one over another
a gasping unsolicited dance
cradled by gentle waves early tide
he catches me gazing
sneers about attention
bats at the fly on my plate
rabies bastard had it coming he adjusts his belt
nod my head aches so i turn
the television on naturally
not unlike chewing a piece of old gum
my brother is picking his toe with a pocket knife
discount microphone rattles softly
news or advertisements something just decipherable
we sit without speaking now framed per usual
fiberglass walls concrete foundation
a cage of windless protection
my brother is moving his lips like a scavenger
around an ungone cigarette
i am choking halfheartedly
this time admitting
the way we’re both smashing
i remember the day i found that dragonfly
quivering on the river’s surface
wings spread kaleidoscopic and wide
sailing downriver with ease
as if it was still flying