You are not your brother

You do not wrap your knuckles around her face
You wrap her face around your knuckles

Where he has traces of tissue and sinew
Apply enough force
Teeth can be used as weapons

You leave traces of tissue on her cheeks
Excitement from her laughter
You have renewed faith in relationships

          There is a difference

          In your behavior

Your DNA makes you different

-so-

Do
Not
Assume

Do
Not
Accept

Do
Not
Associate

Your bloodline to heathens breathing down your neck
Same household
Different homes
Different decisions

You may be twins
But you are not your sister
She has to know her father
Wouldn't be happy
With her clothes
Already pushing a double stroller
With 'sexy thang' stitched on her butt cheeks
Drawing attention to her Baby Phat
Doesn't she get it?
But life is so hard

She'd rather be stuck in denial She thinks the auditions for those videos
Will make her an actress
Maybe an actor
Infecting her dreams
With bass and needles
Those rims spin
Just like that syringe
Back alley
Under the canvas
In the doorway
The bathroom stall
Knees cocked back revealing her secrets
Plastic bags and wire hangers
Swimming in blood and seamen

You are not your sister
Same household
Different homes
Different decisions
You are not your father
Swallowing his dreams down empty beer bottles

You are not him

Eyes turned grey like factory smoke
He is choking
on his vision
Let disrupt his breathing pattern
Let intrude on his daydreams
Bags under his eyes
Canyons for the soot
Caked into his skin
As if he was turning dismal
Like those same Midwest rainy Wednesdays
Mud and traction stuck to the bottom of his work boots
but he is not making a path to anywhere
Name badge

hanging

          like

Pendulums

          From

doorknobs

You are not them

Period.