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Petals from the Rose of Life

Mama, take him back, I can’t play with him

He’s so tiny, so little, not big like me and Jim.

You said I was getting a new brother

Why, he’s not as big as my pup.

How long do I have to wait, Mom,

For him to grow up

Two years or maybe three

For him to be as big as me?

Well, if I have to, I can wait, I suppose

For him to grow a little and take

The first petal from the Rose.

 

There’s the ships mast we climbed in search of land —

Never mind that it was just a tree — The view up there was really grand

And we conquered the world, you and me

We fought the Indians, the Germans and he Japs.

We never got tired or bored but we hated it

When Mom made us take our naps,

Then I had to start school —

Not much as an adventure goes

But we began to grow apart as life took

Another petal from the Rose.

 

I made new friends then, I can’t remember their names

You had the boy down the street — But it asn’t the same.

The world we conquered now had a different look

There were others out there now, not just us

And now it all came from a book.

We started drifting farther apart but then

We were not just brothers now, we were friends,

Life and time began to change us, I suppose

We were going different ways now

Another petal from the Rose.

 

Time began to fly as we grew apart

Yet the times we shared were close to our hearts.

We hunted and fished and explored the world for real now

And woke to find it really does matter how

We do the things we do, love the ones we love.

For we have our own children now

A new set of friends, I suppose

And time really begins to fly

As the petals drop from the Rose.

 

We conquered our separate worlds with our children now

But we kept that sharing, caring of brothers somehow.

We did what we could, when we could, as time would allow.

It brought us closer than ever before

These times we shared,

Each minute, every hour meant more

And we knew we cared —

We didn’t always show it, but it was there,

Time became our enemy, as the saying goes

As life continued to take

The petals from the Rose.

 

Suddenly, we’ve become frail and gray

As the months and weeks pass like days.

I’ve gotten old and fat, you’re thin and bent,

We sit and talk and wonder where the time went.

We still do the things we did

Though not as often or as well

And if you stumbled or I fell

No one sees and we don’t tell

Cause that’s how brothers ought to be

Not just brothers, but friends like you and me.

Time has gotten away from us, I suppose

And there is no stopping the petals from the Rose.

 

I’m glad you are my brother, glad you are my friend

Life was good to us and if we could, we’d do it all again

Just like before, only a little slower

So we could enjoy it more.

But we know we can’t, we’ve had our time

Our children now take our place. As I sit now and reminisce, I can see it in your face

The love and the care.

I say again, Thanks, my Friend for all that we have shared

The time has come to say goodbye, I suppose

And brother dear, let MY tear

Take the last petal from the Rose.

 

© 1997, David B. McCurley

 

Note: This poem was written in honor of the author’s brother, Jerry D. McCurley, and first publicly read at his funeral.
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