I’ve Never Seen My Sister Broken

~for Fiona

I’ve never seen my sister broken
even though this world
has done everything it can
to break her.
She has always turned her face up
toward the wind and the rain
and just when you think she’s about to scream
her mouth turns up to a smile.

I’ve never seen my sister broken.
I think that if I ever did,
I would know it was the end of the world.
I would know,
for certain,
that the sun would not rise in the morning,
and we would all be surrounded by darkness.
Forever.