to my sister

you used to be so

soft and sweet

the mother that i didn’t have the

angel that i wanted

now you are all bone and

sharp angles the shadows in your eyes

your voice, no harp, harping

my hand caught in the cookie jar, again

you are shaking your finger at me

i try to remember when you would

hold me and sing me to sleep

when i was young

wet sand like something you could shape

i was sure i would do

anything

for your promises of always-love

but now i know your arms can

only stretch so wide and

sometimes we grow too big for the corners

carved out for us

now i am too large and lumbering for the

child-sized shape in your life

your ribs show through your chest now

skin translucent and your face angry red

and i wonder where we went wrong

when i became something better and you

began tasting poison

i used to think you held my hand

to cross the street because

you wanted to keep me safe

now i wonder if

by letting your fingers go

i have accidentally

set you adrift.