Blooming
She is unabashed when her voice billows out, fills in all the empty spaces
Coming from a Very Loud Family,
Jewish parents from Long Island,
Brother barely 15 months younger—
“I didn’t give birth to two at once, but I raised them like I did” —
Track star, marching band star, popular boy,
I had to be loud to be heard, she shouts.
In middle school, she was the practice dummy for her brother
(A wrestling star)
And two years later when he came to her high school
Falling seamlessly into her crowd
At her last-ever cast party, senior year, a rainy, dark night
He made out with her friend
So she used the moves he’d taught her right back on him, she laughs
He had more freedom,
She never would have been allowed to do that— any of that—
Remember junior prom weekend?!
An infuriating double standard from her mostly liberal
Sometimes liberal
Parents, who have since tightened their reigns
Guess he isn’t perfect after all, she smirks
Through it all, he looks up to her,
Asking for girlfriend advice she wasn’t qualified to give
Wanting to know about College,
A mythical world only older sisters know
Sometimes it’s hard because she’s the guinea pig
But then she remembers she likes being a know-it-all
Yeah, I do love them, she sighs
All the while her voice ricocheting off the walls,
Her small body enveloped by her big personality,
A feature of nurture and nature