Sisters
We skip verses we don't know, Humming the melody as infill. Anything to avoid hanging Like a noose from weeping willows. That twisting testimony- You lie, You camouflage, I provoke When backed into this bloodied corner, Inescapable DNA Demanding a picket fence, Pressed dresses And the ache of stones swallowed to keep quiet. We carry legacies, Secrets, Cementing alliances so long as the tree stands. I see the willow banded, Leaves wither And Time peck through skin. Perhaps there is no need to hum Now that the earth is dry, Roots unhinged for lack of life. Perhaps this is what it means To grow beyond the song We once sang To stay alive.