by Floyd Skloot
My brother thought they were freaks
of nature, voices fitting together
through some fluke of chemistry.
He said they might just as well
have been Siamese twins sharing
a heart or the Everly humpbacks.
My brother preferred Jerry
Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry.
He cackled at their antics,
battering mother's baby
grand with his fists when we
were alone and duckwalking
the hallway until our downstairs
neighbors hit the ceiling
with a broom. At night he worked
on his Elvis sneer while caking
his face with Clearasil.
I can still see my brother
rave as we rode four stories
up in the quaking elevator.
He offered me one frenzied
groove of Yakety Yak at the top
of his lungs when I tried
to sing. All I wanted was
his voice joining mine in
harmony. The song did not
have to be about faith in love.
Burke's Book Store
936 South Cooper
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 278-7484
www.burkesbooks.com
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