Tommy's Poem

tommy the tech leaves for work in a hurry

looking prep school gothic and not too happy

a zookeeper making his way to the zoo

to stop wild animals from flinging their poo

he comes back to the house and does laundry in a flurry

then it’s time to isolate and whip up some stir fry

or curry, something incredibly spicy

and some days he goes to a bungalow of dreams

then inevitably back to the rehab again

he lives halfway between solace and sin

i wonder what mysteries lay hidden in the seams

i remember one morning in negative nine

when he trained his guitar strings to wistfully laugh

he sang me a story as he nurtured their spines

and the string on my heart almost broke in half

and tommy’s recovery is as tight as his pants

and free as his wisdom, and true as his doubt

he rarely pontificates when taking a stance

and tommy’s heart breaks when a brother goes out

but that doesn’t make him some crucified martyr

the tough kind of love is usually smarter

and tommy is brilliant when it comes to surrender

and one of this brotherhood's most valiant defenders