they shared everything
which is to say
they shared
a beginning
August 26th
and a place
smack dab in the middle
two sisters ahead
two brothers behind

they shared
a father
who loved to dance
and a driveway
where he sometimes parked crooked at night
they shared
a little blue house
swaying on stilts
and the strongest woman in the world
their mother

my mother’s sister
her Irish twin
is dying

but what will it mean when she is gone
will the things they shared disappear
because I am of my mother
will part of me disappear too

I am scared to see her
to look death in the face
I don’t want
to recognize it
in the faces
of people
I love

or maybe
I don’t want
to recognize it
in me

my mother’s sister
her Irish twin
is dying

they shared everything
which is to say
they shared
the silence
when their father died
and secrets so sharp
they drew blood if you got too close
they shared
handwritten letters
from places that hurt
and a quiet dark-haired girl
named Missy

they shared
the cold solitude
of hospital rooms
and the warm embrace of
borrowed blue sweaters
they shared
memories of memories
sweetened by time
and finally the bitter end
one last hug on a Thursday night in March

my mother’s sister
her Irish twin
is dying

but what does it mean that she lived
will the things they shared live on
because I am of my mother
will part of me live on too

I was scared to see her
to look death in the face
but I didn’t know
I was going to see Heaven
I didn’t know
I was going
to recognize it
in the face
of someone
I love

now
I just hope
I recognize it
in me