Mild mannered musings for my brother on his birthday:

Sitting on the couch has me thinking, almost wishing that I were home seeing
My brother opening cards and presents that say so much more than,
“Happy Birthday!-We love you!-You want cake?-We do too!”
The in-between lines are where we really say what we mean, the added comments
The quips, the puns, the fact that we spent more time searching for just the “right” card
Than in finding the present that cost much more. But that’s what we want you to know,
That we really did go and do that for you. Because we love you- because you are you.
No matter who it is that sends you greetings, precious readings of lines that someone else penned, for Hallmark, or Carlton Cards, or American Greetings,
Or even The Far Side, it is not my pride that makes me write these words for you,
My brother. My partner in crimes and justice,
My warrior-friend at my side in so many battles of boyhood days past,
Both in our imagination and in our neighborhood: you were always my protector,
There to keep careful watch over me, making sure that nobody, and I mean nobody,
Whether cowboy or indian, alien, or the bully from down the block,
Would ever supplant you as the only one who could give me a hard time.
I smile now at how you were so quick to step up for me if it was ever needed,
Though it was seldom required, I admired you for it every time.
When time came that I was given a chance to do the same I hope that I was there too,
For you’ve been a brother like none other, and should I have to have another
I would have to ask our mother for another such as you, although a sister might just do,
As either would be younger, and I’ve have to be the brother to be looked up to like the other, like the brother of their brother, like the one I know as you.
Let your days by full of joy, merriment, and love,
Your brother,
Dennis