When instructed to write essays for school
I would come to you for help
You would ask me questions
And make me construct the narrative.
I would think I did it all by myself.
I needn't have asked for help at all.
When I thought I hated History
For all its dwelling in the past
You confessed you were not a fan either
But it was important to one's education
I accepted, begrudgingly.
When Mum and you said, "Do this!"
I asked, "Why?"
Mum said, "Because it is the norm."
"But I am me, not the norm."
You said, "No you're not. Raise that flag high,"
We were spitting images
In our stubbornness and eccentricities
In our cloistered gloom
In our brash exuberance
Your voice echoes the walls of my mind
Every time I make a choice
To take a stand
Raise a warcry
Decide to say no
Be silent
A year without you
Feels just like the first day
