My sister lies dying. She cradles a rag doll. “It looks like you,” she says. She’s given the doll my name. The love I’d buried since childhood floods my body. Bitter rivals while growing up, we had little contact as adults— until I let the past go. I kiss her on the forehead; tell her my next book will be dedicated to her, so that even when I’m gone, she’ll be remembered. She dies clutching the little doll to her chest. I mourn her death and the years we could have been family, had I learned earlier how to forgive
Rita Pomade’s work has appeared in several anthologies and poetry reviews. Her memoir, Seeker: A Sea Odyssey, was shortlisted for the 2019 Concordia University First Book Award. Find Rita on Twitter @ritaritapomade and on Instagram @ri.ta5178.