Oh Brother, Who Knows! Poem by Robert Rorabeck

Brother,
She could be doing anything right now—
She could be making love,
But she’s probably serving domestic beers
To the undergraduate boys who come in
To get drunk on her.
They don’t have a chance….

Brother,
She could be doing anything right now—
She could be on her pink tricycle
Ringing her bell up and down frat row,
Trying to draw the attention of the ice-cream truck,
Because she has a craving for praline….

Brother,
She could be doing anything right now,
But who knows….
She said I shouldn’t feel this way toward her,
Or anyone, who I haven’t seen for most of a decade;
I shouldn’t think about the ways she goes
But, brother, how can she know—

Oh Brother,
How can she know the ruby fire
She ignites in your soul?
How can she know the singing rivers
Of sunlight her name brings when spoken out loud—
Even God sings when he walks into her bar
To sit down and buy a round after a hard day’s hangover
For all the good Catholic boys who bat their eyes
At her in choreographed Christianity?

Oh Brother,
How can she know
The way her amber hair flows—
Oh, the way her amber hair flows
Curling, curling like lovers around
Lips, fingers, and toes….
So when we just look at her,
Around, around the world goes….

Oh Brother,
How can she know
The way my heart goes, swimming
Silently around her too afraid to approach—
I’ve unbuttoned my shirt for her and stood there bared
Waiting for her stare to tattoo my heart,
But she’s a mighty fare Clair
Running about in the world,
Changing to water and trees whenever no one is looking,
Whenever she fancies,
But I’m not supposed to think of these things
Because I don’t know her….

But, Oh Brother,
Who knows!