White Noise

It’s my turn

I step into a room, a dull white

I watch my brother on that bed

one channel than another

wires drape from his arm

I know white, we

know white, but not this shade

the white of our porch in the night

illuminating the grass it stood from

we run, chasing little sparkles

our hands becoming cages

for those tiny bugs of glow

the white of innocent and ignorance

From that bed

he turns his head looking up at me

I catch a glimpse of that white

The yellow would fly from our palms

Watching as they shine brighter than any star

or moon, we couldn’t help

but glow along, radiating white

time is up, I must go

but I am happy

we let those fireflies free

and when he asks to race

I see that lighthearted smile

Those shoulders that carry no responsibility

He laughs as if it was all this world has asked of him

And as we run through the green carpets God has laid out for us alone

our laugher trails behind

I hear his steps thumb behind me

farther and slower

and his breaths

deeper and harsher

The lines on his face finally reach me

and the snow begins to fall ever so lightly on his beard

leaving behind its dots of white in each hair

he stops to catch his breath

and smiles at me with every tooth and every line

watching me reach the tree declared the finish line