Sorrow Shared

The waves ignore my pleas
They keep crashing at my feet
Over and over the water foams
And spreads too thin
Before receding
And repeating

If only they would stop
And with them stop time
Stop the sun from shining
And the clouds from moving
Slowly sinking
Across the sky

I wish I could freeze her
My sister next to me
She keeps taking and jabbering
Like words are band aids
Or free birds to say anything
And everything

I grind my teeth together
Turning memories to a paste
Vibrating the sorrow on my brain
And embedding this pain
Into stitches
Not scars

I push my toes into the sand
Gathering grit under my toenails
Tortuous to squeeze rough grains
Between the tender pads
But the sand is wet
It doesn’t shake off

Finally I gasp inward as I dive
Into our coldness with courage
Sitting next to my sister
She stops mid-sentence
Waiting for something profound
For answers too

I have only questions and hatred
For life bound by rules
Our mom is old, she’s gone now
So I can only whisper “why?”
The question I believe
Is unanswerable

My sister echoes my grief
Her outward sigh I wish my own
She clutches my shoulder
With only answer known
“Sis… because”

Poem for #napowrimo, prompt from Day 12.