Sister Act

Remember

Re   mber I’m not the sa    as you.
I order different    als than you.
My photo is in a different fra    from yours.

We have the sa    parents.
You were always so    an to     when we were kids.
   mories of you locking     in the basement,
Keeping     from turning on any lights.
I don’t know if it was just a ga    to you,
But when a little kid is screaming at the top of his lungs
Because he is terrified, imprisoned in darkness.

Eventually I ca    up with a solution.
Feeling my way down the left side of the stairs,
Finding the first door, behind which
Was a light you could not control.
It was one bulb, but I had beaten your twisted ga   .
   .
I won.
Just by staying calm,
Facing my fears,
And accepting that I would
Still spend ti    in the basement,
But on my terms.

One bulb, but enough to turn on the TV,
Play Nintendo ga   s until Mom and Dad ca    ho   .
Then you had to release control.
I would co    back upstairs like nothing happened.
Made you angry, why wasn’t I scared?
After the first ti    I wouldn’t even bang on the door.
Down the stairs, hit the switch, and it was ga    ti   .
So    day you might re   mber all the awful things,
But I ca    out on top.
You didn’t break    .
It’s a sha   , I was a pretty nice kid.
You terrorized your only brother.
Enjoyed it.
Reveled in it.
That was a long ti    ago.
I forgive you.
I hope that whatever de   nted pleasure
You drew from these actions
No longer appeals to you.
I am who I am
Because of what I went through.
The bigger kids at school weren’t much nicer at that age.
So I guess it shouldn’t surprise     that you were so    an.
You will have to deal with your own demons.
A warning though – they are not afraid of you.
Nor the dark nor the stairs nor the lock.
And when your demons terrorize you,
Re     mber.
    me