My brother's sickness:Changing them both

Standing next to the window
I see darkness
I hear drops
Sometimes louder than a bomb
Sometimes quiet silence
The rain cried tears
Made me think of sad stories
From the past

A small country
named Kenya
lies across the equator
east-central Africa
coast of the Indian Ocean

A sunny, noisy day
Heat like walking in fire
The sickness
my brother
a baby
Mother at home
Holding him gently

He looked tired
dark circles under his eyes
Deep like the ocean floor
Body moving like an old slow river
He is weak like a feather
Being blown by the wind
Over the rows of straw houses
Through the thick midday air
High up in the sky
Between long wispy clouds

Mother worried
Like a homeless person
Walking around
dark lonely streets
Looking for a place
Any place as long as it's safe.

Mother scared
Like she's just seen a ghost
Fear so deep
It is hard to breathe
Speechless
Shocked
Terrified of losing him

Days went by unhurried
Passing like the dry seasons
Waiting for the first significant rain
after many months of dryness
My moms sadness
Made her cry
Tears
Falling hard
Running down
her face
Like a waterfall
Splashing
on his face
His brown eyes
Blinking with each
Drop of sorrow
Making his eyes squeeze
Like a person's face
when they suck a lemon
He awakens
His eyes widen
As he takes in the love
of my mother's tears
Making him heal


The rain stops and I come out of my memory
I watch my brother go outside
Today he is older
Tall, skinny, strong, smart
I wonder
how could some one
Go from being so lifeless
Weak like a dead body
Look so well
Like a person
That has never experience any struggles
And that is why I offer this wonderful nickname
My survival brother
Hope he accepts it