Time To Remember Poem by Morgan Michaels

One ring. Two, three. The phone rang and rang.

Donnie was indisposed.

'Just a minute' he muttered, as if the caller could hear. Hastily he drew up his pants, and belted his belt, wondering who was calling so early Sunday morning.

'Hello', he cried, reaching the phone by the sixth ring.

'Yo, bro'! Donnie!

He recognized his brother's voice on the line.

'Hi, Ronnie. It's been a while. What's up'?

A while, yes. Over six months, in which time he's become a year older. His brother was four years his junior.

'How've you been'?

'Ok. You'?

'Busy. Work's picked up. I'm always getting calls. Almost too busy, I'd say. The money's good, though. Guess the economy's on the mend.

His brother worked free-lance as an insurance claim's adjustor.

Donnie agreed it probably was, and tried to beat back the memory of their trip earlier that year- to Chicago. But the memory came on with avalanche force. On New Year's day, he recalled, Donnie took a train from Penn Station to Thirtieth Street, in Philly. With a sort of linkage of wills, they'd agreed to accompany each other to the Windy City on business. Family business. At Thirtieth Street he'd met Ronnie and together they boarded a train bound for Pittsburgh, where they had a three hour lay-over. There, they dined on Fritos and Diet-Coke. Waiting on the hard benches they.......