Brother's Irony Poem by Amy Hang

Weak, afraid, and unable to look straight into people's eyes, a coward
I am for not stepping up; "For you, a thousand times over, " I'll apologize
and hope that you will forgive
me, Taking you son, Sohrab, into my home is a start to redeem
myself for the lack of respect I gave you; The change
that I am willing to make triumphs our friendship.

"Amir and Hassan: The Sultans of Kabul"; Under that pomegranate tree lies all our friendship
and memories; People who are cowards,
like me, couldn't possibly look to change,
we continue to run far away; however, deep down, we seek to apologize
to the ones we hurt the most. Redemption
is in a dark hole, but we ask the victims for forgiveness.

I ask myself, how could you ever forgive
me for framing you in stealing my things and for not accepting our friendship?
The thought of having to redeem
myself because "I was the monster" and the coward,
who left you to be raped by Assef is hysterical; again, I apologize
to you; selfishness kicked into me and I knew I had to change.

Rahim Khan said I could find a way to change
for my well-being. Too hard on myself, I had to forgive
myself and continue to seek for you apology,
and I found "a way to be good again" for our friendship;
That little 12 year old boy, that coward,
who you spent all your childhood with stands here to be redeemed.

"I became what I am today at the age of twelve, " I, who redeemed
myself by grasping Sohrab from Afghanistan at age 11 and changed
His whole life, looked passed being a coward,
but now I'm facing Sohrab's silence and waiting for forgiveness
from him; Sohrab is our friendship,
our family and I had almost left him in an orphanage; for that, I apologize.

"Harelipped kite runner", my friend, my half-brother, Apologies
to you, Hassan; "I have betrayed, lied, and sinned." Redeeming
myself because you had always thought about our friendship,
and I had always thought of my Baba, but now things have changed.
Even now, hand that "are stained with" your blood, you've always forgiven
me, cease the phases of the moon.

The old coward, who persists in apologizing to you, has been forgiven;
I have redeemed myself and have accepted the new change
in caring for your son; all of this breathes into our friendship.