My hands began to shake
And my tears were held by my fight for strength
As my body turned to ice
They began with the story they were about to make
Like a novel they began to tell what my ears could not bear to hear
Their mouths moved but I could not make out what they were trying to say
Their big bodies in their intimidating costumes hovered over his young body
I knew now they were taking him away
My brother, still a child
With a heart of gold
A risk taker yes, but a criminal no
Would be locked away, his future sold
The wealthy and the powerful
Those who sit up high
Their intelligence supposedly unquestionable
Make decisions that can lead one to die
Yet they carry themselves with such prestige
Speak in an unbiased way
With utmost surety and pride
Then once their jobs are done, they can go home and enjoy their day
How can such a decision be made?
How can such formalities conceal the truth?
Put an innocent child behind bars
While unremorseful killers and rapists are on the loose
How can such prestigious characters face mirrors?
How do they sleep at night?
How can they carry one's life in their hands?
How can they believe such a wrong to be right?
This boy is a brother, a son, an uncle and a friend to so many
How can they take him away while his mother screams and cries?
Screams that could not be silenced by an enormous crowd
Cries that could shatter a thousand lies
Deep down I know that much of what has been taken can never be returned
I know that childhood is hard to replace
Goals will be difficult to achieve
And the disentangled pieces of our family almost impossible to put in place
The pain and the tears caused by imagining my brother in a cold empty cell
With the big always overlooking the small
The strong always dominating and torturing the weak
I wish that somehow I could have taken the fall
When I reminisce about our past years
The days of laughter that we spent together
A kind person is brought to mind
A person who taught me never use the word "never"
And then my heart begins to ache
As I look disturbed by reality
Emptiness is now my present and my future
My only hope being whatever is left of my sanity