Quid pro quo, my twin bro

Youthful stupidity meant my twin brother and I almost grew apart, but age and time had some pleasant tricks up the sleeve

My mirror image in a rippling pond

Alike in looks, yet we pushed for space

Fought for dominance, to be up on the pace.

Quid pro quo, my twin bro.

 

Love mixed with envy

Me twinned with you

Trying to split one identity into two.

 

As we grew up we grew apart

I then found a lack of fire in my hearth

Reckless youth had cast aside the friendship from birth.

 

Relief, warm and cleansing, as we grew older

We got wiser, and the hearth began to smoulder.

 

You then heard for the first time your baby’s heartbeat.

Pride and love exploded through me; a fire within that wetted my eyes.

I realised my love for you was more than I loved myself

and you fathering a child was the most precious prize.

 

I stood back, admiring and proud you’d made the next step first,

Feeling a joy without caveat at how age has been our friend

The fire of our friendship renewed by another birth.

 

Author's Note

I'd appreciate thoughts, comments, views, questions (or answers!). Thanks for reading.

Reviews

[emmajoy]

We hear/read that twins are inevitably very close .. but for some it must be difficult to find personal space and place, so, yes, I can understand how you and your brother gradually moved out of each other's shadows. But, that birth, that baby .. a continuation of the line really has to be something to share and share strongly.

I've read this poem twice, once aloud .. and wonder if maybe it could be set in prose, some of the rhyming words are a little forced maybe. Nonetheless, it's a fine, fine piece of writing.

[Taylor H.]

I'm making up for reviews I haven't returned. So you may get a few from me depending :). OK, you need to stop writing so well so Im not jealous lol ;P. Great poem!

[Micah_s5]

Nicely done. The whole thing really is emotionally self explanitory. Good job.

[Anna Kay]

greatly written! tht does happen to some sisters and brothers.....
u out it in a way tht it was rabelious and tht u wanted to be so much like tht prson you saw.
Keep on!
-Anna Kay Patton

[Pax Analog]

Fascinating, celebratory, and witty rumination on the psi bond between twins (I can't help wondering if you're Gemini ;-).

Being an only child (a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away), a stranger in a strange land, I'm always intrigued by healthy familial ties (by healthy, I mean not stupid ;-).

"Quid pro quo, my twin bro" -- those lines burrow infectiously into one's brain!

Fun read.

[Dante Yurei]

Beatiful poem! My best friends are twin sisters and I know how it goes, but overall having sibblings is a beutiful blessing. Liked the vocabulary you used and how it flows. The emotions were really strong too. Liked it very much, good job!!

[Millionth Muse]

I always imagined it would be difficult to have a twin...difficult, and yet an experience that is probably singularly enchanting as well. I sense the emotion in this piece, and I really enjoyed the masterful tone of your poetic voice; it was almost as though I was being led through the piece as I read, which I find fascinating. Bravo!

[Hollywood]

It's beautifully written. I love how you rhyme: "quid pro quo, my twin bro."
I really enjoyed the connection between the two brothers. I would be hard to be a twin & to have your own identity. I really loved it. Bravo.

[Theresa]

Love it. I love the ending and how it all leads back to birth. I couldn't imagine being a twin. People expect you to be best friends and one in the same but I would expect it to be more of a constant competetition. The line:
"I stood back, admiring and proud you’d made the next step first"
Shows what type of person you are. It's sweet and sincere. You brought the reader on the journey between you and your brother in just a few stanzas and that in itself is hard to do. Having a brother I was able to relate. It took us until our twenties to finally get along. Look forward to reading more from you. BY the way I wouldn't change a thing.

[Erin Lee]

i love this. the way it flows is superb. i am assuming you read your writing aloud? if so, yo u can tell. that word, caveat, and how well it fit in right in was great. your first lines had me hooked....a great write! i can't say anything i'd change!