30/23: You Could Have Been My Brother

I think of the randomness of circumstance,
of the little we can control. I think about this
as I walk home from the film I have just seen
here in New York City. The film takes me back
to the Philippines, tells me the story of a boy
named Paco, who is now a man in a Spanish
prison. Paco, you are a stranger to me, but right
now I feel so close to you, I feel  that you could
have been my brother. We have the same ethnic
mix, you and my brother are three years
apart in age. I am haunted by the
thought that you could have been my brother.

My brother’s story could have been your story.
Prison is stealing years from you, Paco. But still,
what  happened for my brother can still happen
for you. Let me tell you what is waiting for you.
You will find friendship, you will find advocacy.
You will find people who care only about where
you’re headed and not where you’ve been.
You will come to know the love of a woman who
is not family, then the heartaches that come from
that breaking. You will know the rewards of an
honest day’s work, remember the joy of a
day off and discovery the weekend again.

You will remember how a free man walks on concrete,
build a house without fences, learn how to unlock your
door.You will fall in love again, and buy her a ring. You
will get down on one knee and know the joy of yes.
You will know the joy of yes, the exhilaration of yes,
after fourteen years of no you will find the simple
and profound joy of yes. Paco Larrañaga, you are
an innocent man jailed for no fault of yours. You
could have been my brother, and on this eve of Easter
Sunday, I pray for you as if you were my brother.