A Family Resemblance

My sister has my hair     my mouth     my eyes
and I presume her     trustless.
When she was young     open to any fever
wearing gold like a veil of fortune on her face
she waited through each rain
a dream of light.

But the sun came up
burning our eyes like crystal
bleaching the sky of promise and
my sister stood
Black     unblessed and unbelieving
shivering in the first cold show
of love.

I saw her gold become an arch
where nightmare hunted
the porches of her restless nights.
Through echoes of denial
she walks
a bleached side of reason
secret now
my sister never waits
nor mourns the gold
that wandered from her bed.

My sister has my tongue
and all my flesh
unanswered
and I presume her
trustless
as a stone.