He was a freckled face little boy
18 months younger than me;
And we were always the best of friends
Even though, we were also family.
We’d shoot bows, and pretend to drive
While smoking sticks for cigarettes.
We’d prank call our neighbors,
And gang up on our sister;
Back then, we didn’t have many regrets.
We’d take turns in belting out cuss words
So long as our mom never knew;
She’d make us drink hot sauce for every bad word-
I’m sure that’s when his love for Tabasco sauce grew.
We rode horses for hours out in the foothills,
Playing Cowboy and Indians.
We’d be on one team, our sister on the other,
And we’d never let her win.
He learned to ride a bike before I did,
But he wanted me to ride along too;
So he took my training wheels off all by himself-
We both thought he was so cool.
I’d make him a seat, in my classroom of dolls,
And teach him school subjects a lot.
I was sort of like a drill sergeant when it came to his learning,
and I think, to this day, it paid off.
We built forts and played with walkie talkies,
Pressing out words in Morse code.
We’d spend hours riding his dirt bike or
Speed around on the big yellow three-wheeler;
Leaving dust on every dirt road.
We listened to Vanilla Ice, boom from his speakers,
And rap along to Sir mix-a-lot;
We’d race in seeing who could name the Presidents in order,
Or all the other weird things we never forgot.
He excelled in both academics and athletics,
And as a friend who could make anyone laugh.
He has the same group of friends, he’s had since fifth grade,
He’s the type that would never turn his back.
As the years found us growing up, like it does
Life led us along opposite paths,
I still looked up to my big-little brother,
Our friendship, I’ve always held steadfast.
I still bossed him when I felt it was needed,
Or gave him advice when wanting to help;
I watched him battle some pretty big demons,
But he never gave up on himself.
He’s been a friend, a husband and father
And I’m so proud of who he is today;
He’ll always be my friend and big-little brother,
And my memories won’t ever fade away.

Happy Birthday! We Love you, Paul James!

~carla reams
3/18/2018

creamspoems🦋