my oldest friend is a girl with a too big mouth and too long hair
she runs around town screaming battle cries
and she tries to fight my wars so that i will not have to
she is loud, unabashed, unapologetic
and she has taught me to never be sorry for who I am

the boys complain that she is abrasive
she is too big, too angry, she takes up too much space
and I ask them if they'd rather she not take up any space at all,
if we should shut our mouths and shrink into ourselves
girls are better seen than heard and they would prefer us to be
smaller, daintier, easier to swallow
but she has taught me to be immense

she walks with her chin in the air as though she is a queen approaching a throne
to the world she is strong; unbreakable
but I have heard her cries, I have wiped her tears
I have picked her frozen body up off the bathroom floor
and she has taught me that no one is unbreakable

she wears nike shorts and a singular black hoodie that carries her scent through the air- shampoo and marijuana permeating the wind
she acts casual and screams to the world that she does not give a **** about how she looks or how they think she looks
but I know that she spends hours on her hair, her nails, her homecoming dress
and she has taught me that there is more than one definition to the word beautiful

she comes to school with hickeys and the scent of drugs and ***
she laughs and jokes
and I let her
because it is her body and what she does to it is not my business
but she has taught me that it is okay to be concerned anyways

we link our hands together and proclaim that we are sisters
we have shared everything from clothes to beds
from meals to test answers
car rides and late nights and head aches to heart breaks
despite what our dna tries to tell us, the blood in our veins, the beat of our hearts,  everything about us knows that we are sisters
and though my father was pale and hers is dark we still have this bond
because she has taught me that, yes, blood is thicker than water, but love is thicker than blood