My Brother, Lonely Poem by Roy William Gotaas

(1st. voice) What do you see, my brother, lonely,

With eyes that seem to search

An unreachable distance?



(2nd. Voice) My eyes ken the view from a height we climbed together.

She and I remain, looking down on the plains

But you and she have passed on.



(1st. Voice) What do you hear, my brother, lonely,

That always seem to be listening,

Outside this room and far away?



(2nd. Voice) I hear the song we made together, she music and I words.

Your ears are full of other sounds,

But she and I still savor the echoes.



(1st. Voice) What are your hands doing, my brother, lonely,

That clutch tenderly

At shadows in the night?



(2nd. Voice) They are clasped to hers, that found no warmth in any other’s.

While you trickle sand

Through your fingers.



Your voice is faint, my brother, lonely;

We are so far apart.

She and I send you our love.

'1974'