You broke my heart today.
I worked your words around my mouth
And spit them out,
Each one a traitor to my tongue.

It’s funny how a dark red wine mood
Can shatter one’s bones.
Maybe this would hurt
If the neuropathy hadn’t set in
So heavy.
You know the numbness so well
It’s as if you feel it yourself.

I’m glad you’re free of grief
But the pain
The pain
You breathe it like fire
All of us alight in the heat of its flame.

I caught you in a dead faint
And set you on your feet again.
You’re not who you used to be
But still, you’re my sister.
That has to count for something.