She used to wear these dresses…
These poofy, sunflower-covered, just-for-Easter dresses
To play in the backyard.
She used to have this cloud of golden-brown curls that
Everyone said was a halo,
(she got it from her mother’s father, you know)
But don’t let it fool you.
She’s always had more than me:
More spunk, more height, more adoration, more shoes…
Always has, always will.
Baby girl, young lady, confident woman…
Faerie child…sister-daughter…
Our clothes get mixed up in the laundry now
And even we have trouble telling our underwear apart.
You steal my shirts and I wear the shoes you’ve outgrown.
You do have big feet. Don’t even deny it.
Partners in crime sometimes fighting like two cats in a bag,
Looking like me sometimes looking like Chris.
Blue eyes, small mouth like a child’s, freckles.
I remember you learning to walk
And me dropping things on your head…It was an accident, I swear.
Your getting older seems to screw up time.
Big feet, loud voice, chewed-up fingernails…
When I asked for a baby sister,
I never thought to ask for all this.
beautiful.
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