My Brother's Bedroom

the touch of cool plastic on sweaty palms

        fuzzy carpet beneath toes

        warm bedsheets in winter

smell and taste of smuggled sweets and sodas

sight of red and blue milk boxes containing countless hours of joy

        transformers, legos

        GI Joe and Jurassic Park

        TMNT box with a manhole lid

        more dinosaurs than a museum

        the 80s in the 90s

        glowing monolith at night

they say the sense of smell is the strongest sense connected to memory

but not for me

sound of buzzing pixels, a captivating drone—that was how you knew

            recognizable chiptune scores, haunting boss themes

            plastic cases sliding on carpet

            screams of failure, swears under breath

            fist thumping floors

            cries of victory, muted gasps of awe

            hands tugging hair

            footsteps galloping upstairs and down the hall

            click and clack of buttons and sticks