Coming of Age

"Not another book of poetry,"
He says,
And I don't mind.
"You know that story you wrote
And had in a binder?
Publish that."
I'm not even offended.
In fact, I take him seriously
Because he's not a little boy
Anymore.
I respect his opinions as
I always have.
Soon, thirteen will come
And take him into teenagehood.
Then I will watch
My baby brother
Grow from a kind-hearted
Child
Into the kind of man
I know
I will be proud of.