Next Stop Willoughby

You appeared in a dream

as your latest birthday passed

Why did you appear, sweet lost sister, to me now?

You had no need to remind me

That once you and I were close

So close

Three years apart

Living in a land where we were never born

Never wanted to be.

I have never forgotten

How you climbed on a chair, crayon in hand, the Big Sister who explained the alphabet to Little Brother

A is for Apple

B is for Book

C is for Cat

D is for Dog

We have a dog, I yelled, but dog slept on in the shade and took no notice.

I remember how you'd wrap a rock in mud and throw it at me

Then years later wrap a rock in snow

Then console my hurt, kiss it better

Or hug me tight when our father broke our hearts

And when a girl broke my heart.

I remember the smile on your face when you introduced me to the man you loved with all your soul

The man you would marry against his family's wishes

The man you would nurse through his pain, through his cancer, through his screams

The man you would quietly tell "Let go" and be at the peace he needed

You needed

Whose body you would hold and hold until his brother pulled you away

The brother who would take your life

In the city you had lived for many years but did not love

in a room you thought secure

Alone in bed

Then not alone

Then not alive.

You came to me in a dream, sister I can never forget. Were you thinking of me?

Then thank you.