When you left
We said we'd talk
Once a week

We did
For a while
I was thrilled
For once
We seemed to be two parts
To a whole

I couldn't wait for you
To come back home
So we could talk in our
Moonlit bedroom
Until we fell asleep

But then we lost contact
And we drifted apart
And I forgot that you
Were gone
On the other
Side
Of the continent

When you finally came back
You were different
Freedom turned you bad
I found empty wine bottles
And gin
In our room

And we bickered
The companionship
We built up
Melted
Like butter on a hot day

I couldn't close the blinds
At night
Because of your so-called
Panic attacks
And I felt
Betrayed

I trusted you
To be the same sister
You were
When you left

But I must be too
Trusting
Because you left me
In the dust
In the wake
Of your hurricane

As the summer ended
We could hardly
Be in the same
Room

But when you left
We made
A promise

When you left
We said we'd talk
Once a week