Her Brother's Ghost (Companion Poem to "I Keep Looking for

~*Companion Poem to "Sweet Memories" and "I Keep Looking for You"*~

He held her head gently
Against his chest
While her parents fought
And you know what comes next...

A tear rolled down her face
And he dried it with a kiss
Her parents were fighting about her,
Her father's job, and all it caused him to miss:

Her successful track meets
Her horse shows and games
He tried to stop her from hearing
All of the exchanged obscene names.

Her mother said the very words
That no one wanted to hear:
"You never got to know Jonathan.
You were never here."

She would've made her father proud
If he'd only payed attention
To the girl she truly was
But now there was a mess he was in.

Taking her hand
He led her out the door, into the cold
They got into his truck
And took off down the road.

They didn't speak a word
He knew where she wanted to go
To the graveyard where her brother was buried
He'd died only a month ago.

He parked and she got out
And ran to the grave
She knelt by the stone and cried
Her heart was as empty as an underground cave.

He stood beside her
As she traced the letters on the headstone:
In Loving Memory... Brother... Son...
Two dates, and a name - Jonathan David Jones

After awhile they turned to go
But when she looked back she thought:
Why has my life spiraled out of control?
Why did he appear when her parents fought?

She hadn't even realized
Who had taken her to the graveyard
But plain as day, she saw him
But believing what she saw was hard.

She turned to say good-bye
But was stopped by what she missed most
Her brother, Jonathan...
But she was staring at his ghost.

~Please comment...~