When I Saved Your Life

Love was always there, hiding in the walls, 
Trapped in the closets, curled up in the clothes tossed 
About your adolescent room.  You've forgotten 
The days when we played together, all the time, 
Just you and me. You had someone to look up to 
Back then, but not anymore; now life has molded 
You into something strong and dangerous, 
That doesn't look back, doesn't compromise, 
Fails to see the good in me.  It all reminds me  
Of what Joni Mitchell sang about paradise, 
How childhood can be a double-edged sword, 
So cherishable yet vulnerable to mistakes. 
I wish I could have foreseen where the future  
Would lead us; you and me, one in the same, 
Like we always were- two lost otters, drifting 
Apart from each other yet wanting to stay close. 
 
Sometimes when you wake up in the morning 
You can still hear me laughing, pretending 
To be some movie star, faded out through 
The solitude of a campground in the mountains, 
As I can still see you smiling in that Orioles t-shirt,  

Back when your health was good, 
Your bones were aglow and you wanted 
To follow me more than you wanted to lead. 
Once upon a time, the ocean took you 
Off your feet, toppled you off your sturdy feet, 

Plunged you into the sand, dared to drag you 

With her out into the silent waters; 
But I was with you, and I lifted you up, 
Out of the water and into the light 
Where you belong, once upon a time, 
When we were still brothers, 
When I saved your life.