A Brother's Burden

In shadows cast by years gone by,
The echoes linger, and we ask why.
A drug, so cruel, with its deadly snare,
Has torn apart a family’s care.

We’ve walked this road, the pain, the tears,
Through endless nights, through countless fears.
My oldest brother, lost and gone,
A battle waged, but not yet won.

Now my second to the youngest stands,
A soul undone by his own hands.
In a far-off state, he drifts alone,
Homeless, jobless, with no real home.

Our mother, kind, yet blind to see,
Her love, an enabler’s legacy.
She means no harm, her heart is pure,
But the wounds she soothes, she helps endure.

This drug, this evil, spreads its blight,
Through fathers, brothers, and endless fights.
It claimed my past, my soul once too,
But strength within has pulled me though.

I long to save him, bring him back,
Back to Mississippi and back on track.
Where family awaits, where love can mend,
Before the darkness claims the end.

But he resists a stubborn flame,
Haunted by a child’s name.
My youngest brother shares my fear,
The clock ticks on; the end feels near.

I love my mother, her flaws, her ways,
But I can’t live in her shadowed haze.
I’ve grown, I’ve changed, I’ve found my voice,
To rise above, to make my choice.

Dear brother, hear me, see my plea,
Break free from the chains, then you’ll see.
This path you’re on need not repeat,
We’ve known too much of sad defeat.

In love, in hope, in whispered prayer,
I send this message through the air.
For though the darkness looms and weighs,
I’ll fight for you, through all my days.