My Sun Kissed Brother


I used to be told that my brother stepped one foot too close to the sun

He shone, my brother

glass speckled sunlight 

was the embodiment of living 

as he used to say

before he stepped one foot to close to the sun


He would stretch one tawny golden arm behind himself 

at the beach

flipped shades onto his eyes

as if that were his one Achilles' heel

his one vulnerability 

but the rest of his body soaked sunlight 

as if it were water


He survived off of golden 

drank shimmery liquid 

and prayed to the sun god

He always carried a fascination 

that wrapped itself around his mind

squeezing closer and closer

pressing the movement of 

hurry 

you don’t want to miss it

deeper and deeper 

until it was all he could think about


He awoke with the sun

and died when it came down