Feiry red hair and thick lenses,

luis was a scholar,

scarred flesh and clenched fists,

thommy was a fighter.

These are my brothers,

my mother's brothers by blood

but they raised me.

We grew up together.

These are the men who taught me how to be a man

though they were just learning themselves.

Thommy taught me to stand for what i believe,

to never regret my choices and to push forward,

with passion and courage close to my heart.

Luis taught me to keep a level head,

to learn from my past but never let it dictate my future,

and to work for everything i want in life,

with determination and drive in each step.

Though neither of them could teach me to choose reading over video games,

but im teaching that to myself.

They were my guides.

I respected them though we never spoke,

we never had to..

And now they are miles away,

and that hasn't changed.

Yet whenever they return 

time goes back to when i was five and they were fifteen 

and i was just a shadow,

laughing and following as they walked ahead,

quietly learning,

quietly growing.

And i yearn for the day i catch up to them,

and I can walk along side them as equals,

as their brother.