We’re not so different, you and I.
We carry our burdens in bicycle baskets
On the road to nowhere
And we take hope in the stars.

I think there’s something beautiful in that.

Today, you looked my way
And I thought
Maybe
This time
You would see how similar we are
Maybe this time you would see that I’m hurting too.

We were friends a long time ago but you’ve always felt so alone
I get it.

When you looked my way
Your eyes glazed over
And I thought about the time you cut your hair.
I remember I came back from camp that year
And you had shaved the last bits of it off
It was patchy

I think deep down I knew why you did it
Because you gave me that same look
Like you didn’t know where you were going
But you never talked about it

Someone told you that you looked like a stray dog
A wild animal, they said
And I remember seeing your journal open on your bed:
“Lone wolf, lone wolf, howl at the moon,
Still no one comes.”

I asked you why you brought that boy home
When you were just a sophomore
You knew you would get caught
So why?

They don’t hit
All
That
Hard
You said.
But they hit hard enough for me.

In the wintertime
Your hair was back
It was uneven and it wasn’t long
But I knew you liked it that way
I think you wanted to look as unpretty as you felt.

Now when I look at you
Now that we’re not friends anymore
I can see the things you did to push me away.
I think you thought I was happy
But I was always better at hiding things than you.

Sister
Remember I said this
And you’ll see it too
One day
We’re not so different, you and I
We carry our burdens in bicycle baskets
Too scared to go and leave them behind