Sister

 You were like a sister to me.

I will miss you.

You had energy and life in you,
always bouncing like Tigger,
bringing movement into every room.

But you didn't trust me.
You lied to me.
And so I'm stepping away.

I had a sister once.
She was very like you.

We were close—so close that when she would sit by the railway tracks,
thinking of ending her life,
she would come back and tell me.

Not our parents.
They lived in a world of their own,
and when a man hurt her,
they could not give her the support she needed.

So she sat on the shore and watched the sea.
She walked the railway line.
She carried storms inside herself.

And when she came back,
she told me.

That's why I know that sisters carry wounds.
I know they carry secrets.
I know they can love fiercely,
even when they are hurting.

Perhaps that's why I cared for you as I did.

And now I'm stepping away,
with sadness rather than anger.

You were like a sister to me.

And I will miss you.