A Letter to My Sister On Our 35th Birthday

Sister mine,
so striking
stunning
beautiful,
I have guarded you.
Alongside me
I’ve watched you blossom
and now our bodies
begin to age.
They ripen
and we suffer time.

Sister child,
my first held
first loved
firstborn,
as I am yours.
Before we understood
the sound of laughter,
we laughed together
inside the womb.
Today
we are still laughing.

Sister body,
such worry
unease
concern,
I sense them in you.
Daily, monthly
your belly hosts a fear
that swells and grows intent
on taking root.
You agonize
and long for motherhood.

Sister sorrow,
refuse panic
distress
and logic.
Motherhood is your destiny.
Before your birth
you shared with me
food and water, space,
blood and time, yourself.
Who is more
maternal than you?

Sister protector,
on the playground
in our schools
in the city,
you have kept me from harm.
You prepared me for
the scourge of gossip,
and saved me from
the arms of men.
You rescued me
from myself.

Sister friend,
my insecurities
inconsistencies
and shortcomings,
you have tolerated them.
You capture the fruit
of my shameful predictability
and prepare it for me
at your own stunning table.
You sculpt me into camaraderie.

Sister spirit,
sweet sister,
childless mother,
true mother,
you have known me.
Near to mine,
your heart is fertile
and still our bodies
continue changing.
They suffer
while we ripen time.

Sister mother,
You push beyond sisterhood,
reach into my soul
and find me where I live,
at times woefully unacquainted
with what is female.
You set me right.

Sister mother,
I selfishly embrace
your unorthodox maternity:
It has given me life.
I respectfully greet
your rebellious fertility:
It has protected me.
I hold close and dear
your contrary fecundity:
It has nourished me.

Dear sister, you are
beauty
sorority
maternity
fertility
fecundity
abundantly, creatively, and most truly
redefined.