My Sister's Roots

[Written for StJ PoemTown 2022]

A leaf has fallen off my Easter cactus,
but all is not lost.
I take it, gently, in my hand, and
set it in a jam jar cup filled with fresh water.

It sits for days, weeks, and when I have almost
given up hope…
It grows new roots.


My sister is growing her own roots.
As the leaf broke from the Easter cactus,
she has broken from our roots.
Our roots are of screams, and pain, and betrayal.
Our roots are hyperventilating in the kitchen corner,
and holding hands in the back seat
while our mother screams at her after
our grandfather’s funeral.


So she is growing her own roots.

Roots of genuine love,
and gentleness,
and stability.

We have the same roots.
Roots we will remember when we are old and gray
and sitting in the garden.
But we are growing our own roots.

I am growing my own roots.

And though these new roots aren’t shared,
I hope they’ll intertwine with hers.