Pleas from An Older Sister

Golden amber drips over the supple rising of skin

Made crisp by the summer’s sun, droplets catch in the curves of her lashes

“Never” floats through the breeze

“Never, never, never. Why don’t you ever play fair?” The final word goes on for miles

Legs squeeze tightly together as fingers clench wood beneath her knees

Tori’s curls whisk away a single tear.

Sydney sits below her, cross-legged on the grass, clovers made airborne every few moments

Her face becomes an anxious red

Sydney’s wick is lit and just as quickly goes out in explosion

Her mouth flitters up and down, but the screams are hollow.

Tori stares at toes curled over the rudimentary wooden fence,

 She remains as cotton stone in place until the shouts subside

Arms rise with gesture loving.

Sydney stands and squeezes her sister at once

Tori squeezes her little sister