Older Sisters
When we were younger, we were perhaps bullies.
We saw our siblings admiration and mimicking
became full of ourselves,
then left them to their toys while we went out with our friends.
We love our baby sisters,
but became wrapped up in the world of friends,
became infatuated with boys,
stressed out from school,
while they looked only at us.
As they get older,
We see how we’ve influenced them,
what wonderful people they are becoming,
and we are so proud.
But by then they are wrapped up in the things we ignored them for.
They march in the band,
They go out with friends,
They kiss their boyfriend.
We long to protect them from the things we were hurt by,
Yearn to help them in any problems that arise.
We love them, unconditionally,
As their closets fill with big sisters clothing,
And the hot water is gone when we get in the shower
And they snap at us for getting frustrated,
Those self-entitled little girls.
But we love them.
Love late nights talking about their life,
And seeing them grow up into strong young women.
They become our best friend.We realize they will be their our entire life,
and that little sibling makes the future
just a little bit more manageable.
I really enjoyed this poem, Ellen. Although I don't have a younger sister, you wrote this poem in a way that helped me to see and understand what it might be like. I especially liked how you ended, saying that "little siblings make the future just a little bit more manageable." You show how there have been borders between your sister and yourself as you've grown up, but it's nice to see that those borders are disappearing as you get older.
ReplyDeleteI also very much enjoyed your poem. I do not have a younger sister, however some of the things you talk about can relate to siblings in general. I also found myself comparing the relationship between sisters to my relationship with one of my younger girl cousins. I think the emotion you put into the poem makes it easy to relate to both for people with younger sisters and people without them. Overall, I just really liked the insight you gave to the special relationship between sisters. Even though you can get annoyed with your sister, it is very obvious that you love her very much and all of the annoyances are worth it to have that sister bond.
ReplyDeleteI love the flow of this--the admission that older sisters might be bullies sometimes, and can later be ignored by the little sisters who discover their own lives and friends. You choose excellent details that help your readers relate to the poem.
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