Brother's Shadow

I love her still, though she says no, "My brother," is the name I know. A word to keep me by her side, While all my deeper feelings hide. I feel a loser, unesteemed, A silent hurt, a broken dream. No respect in this role I play, As her true feelings turn away. Yet still, she lingers in my mind, A phantom touch, impossible to find Release from thoughts that fiercely burn, For a love that never will return. But now, the time has truly come, To silence every aching hum. To let her go, a bitter truth, To sever ties with hopeful youth. There were the dots, I see them now, A pattern missed, beneath a furrowed brow. Or maybe I just failed to see, The truth that always guided me. Now, truly, I give up on love's embrace, Not meant for all, in time and space. Today, I promise, clear and deep, Her heart no longer mine to keep. I tell myself, this pain will cease, And find, at last, a fragile peace.