Frater

Frater
  by Leslie GS

"You've made me a murderer," you accuse,
But I know what you are.  You are my own.
A god, I say, for there's naught you can lose,
Eternal and fearless, flesh, blood and bone.
And—do you heed—I made you my brother.
The tongue of my days in the Sun wrapped 'round
A word once breathed caressing another,
When lover loved beloved, in heart's fire bound.
You cannot hear me, for this narrow age
That gave you birth has no endearments fit
For men's ensnared souls, tangled in love's rage;
So deaf, so dumb, our natures' ways are pit.
   But blood can speak down veins to marrow's core
   With mute eloquence to brothers... and more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nicholas:  "You've made me a murderer."
Lacroix:  "I've made you a god, I made you eternal.  I made you my brother."
    ~ Dark Knight

June '99

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Note: Lovers used "brother" and "sister" as endearments in the ancient Mediterranean cultures, as we might use "baby," "mama," "old man," etc. (The Song of Songs and Petronius' Satyricon contain literary examples of this idiom.) This included male lovers in the Roman culture, which had greater tolerance for same-sex unions than Nicholas' or our own.

Table of Contents

Credits:

For Lauren and Molly, 'cuz we talked about it over a beer.
And thank you, Julia, for helping me hammer it out.
Content -- LoosCanN

This page was created Wednesday, June 16th, 1999
Most recent revision Wednesday, June 16th, 1999