SISTER

for K.

sister.
what shaped that word
before your eager hands?
sister.
a jeer, a snare,
thrown by crowding boys.
a spartan share,
a distance.

​

I speak it now,
sister
outlined in you,
teat-lipped dreamer;
safe in my crooked arm,
that sweet
milk lull sis
earthy hum ter.

​

sis – ter.
the word’s curve
and its fullness.

​

sister,
my heart knocks
at your dreams’ edge.