we broke
together
bones splintered
bones immobile
our father’s broken body lies in a hospice bed
our mother’s broken heart walks down the stairs of a morgue
broken sisters left and right
my older brother can’t make it out of bed, broken
my younger brother lies in a coffin with his shattered bones
he broke himself
not looking back at us
but there he is
all of a sudden
(un)whole
we can’t see the parts which are smashed
don’t remember me like this
my younger brother’s unfolded hands
one by the side of his body
clothed
in jeans and wool
the soul doesn’t need bones
the other on his belly
he is someone else
someone I don’t know
someone I have never known
someone who I have 30 minutes with
someone who has always stayed within my brother
someone who I’ve seen flash by in his eyes
from time to time
but he never introduced himself
never uttered his name
I treat his body as if it were made out of glass
he is already broken
broken glass
the worst thing has already happened
tiptoeing around my broken brother
I familiarise myself with the truth in front of me
we broke into each other
together we broke down
life has exited your body
all of it
flashing
attached to all of us
your life is a life that sticks
there’s the language of the dead
and there’s the language of the living
those who remember
those who have memorised
those who physicalise
those who externalise
nobody vanishes into thin air
Croque-Melpomene 