we met on a bench
during orientation for transfer students
you picked me to talk to
because I was the only other person
wearing bellbottom jeans
that was the beginning of our brotherhood
and our roads
though different
continue to overlap
through time
shared music
a fondness for whiskey
and once
in another time zone
we shared a house in LA
picked because it had enough bedrooms
for the various people we carried with us
and a wet bar
which was essential
in our eyes
my brother
how is it we
of two opposite personalities
have remained so close
without tension
even during all those pool games
with only one argument
over my driving
settled when you refused
to get out of the car
a thousand years ago
my brother
we sealed our fates
and traveled rocky roads
connected in ways
we don’t fully understand
there have been women
some whose names we no longer recall
boating on a lake
drinking in sleazy Hollywood bars
you backing me up
when my mouth moved faster
than my brain
there were those weekly dinners
in your trailer
my various apartments
rain on rooftops
corn rustling in the wind
my dog romping in a field
as you egged him on
listening to you play
in clubs, in bars, at colleges
charting your life in song
as I sorted out mine
on paper
brothers in word and deed
and finally last summer
as I accompanied you
on your spiritual journey
to your ancestral home
we both knew
it could be no other way
the two of us
in a car
driving into sunsets
Cisco and Pancho
forever