In this whimsical and melancholic poem, sisterhood and coming of age are illustrated in the metaphor of flight.

I have learned 
What it is to love.
The way my sister 
And I went for 
Night drives, the way 
She cried, got 
Drunk, said “sorry”. 
Like I wrote her poetry 
And named us birds—
Like my sister 
Is always a bird to me. 
Paloma, forever a dove 
And free. That’s what 
I mean—we live  
Immediately, deeply. 
Like I cried and panicked 
And thought about 
Dying. Like she said 
“It’s gonna be ok”, like

She always told 
Me stories. Like 
I never and always 
Understood things. Like 
We are alone together, like 
I am learning to live life 
Over and over. And 
You love me like you 
See me and it makes me now 
Eternal. You teach 
Me to be alone and not 
Be lonely when I need to 
Be. I am learning to 
Let go. Learning to fly 

Like you taught me.  

Process

On a quiet spring evening, I found myself writing about how quickly time moves. How, at 19, adulting feels like rapidly approaching my future whilst free falling back into my childhood. For one reason or another, this made me think of my sister. Paloma is always teaching me what it means to live in time and to grow.