A picture hangs in the living room

of my brothers, the three of us

posing with our dad.

Each of the brothers,

wearing one of our dad’s hats.

We weren’t just smiling,

we were laughing,

not at our dad,

but at his hats.

I look at the picture now.

Though we are all still smiling

in that picture,

I know now that

one of us is gone,

lost in a world no one knows.

It is not death,

even though we do not know it well

enough so we can understand it.

One brother hasn’t found his way

out of the other world.

We are patiently waiting.

The smiles

too are waiting.