For My Sister

By Mian Anais

Some nights

I fold you into prayers  

I look at the full moon 

and wonder if you see it too 

If it watches over you 

The way I tried to 

I see you walking roads 

I prayed you’d never find 

And it kills me 

To see you fetching for him 

To know you’ve become a punching bag 

To see your light bruised by hands

Never meant to know your body 

What is it like? 

To be shaped by sorrow and survival?

When memory is your only map 

and the present slips through your fingers 

I know your mind doesn't always feel like home sister

I tried to build a fortress around you,

But you wouldn't be saved 

Now all I have are these prayers in my pocket

These quiet offerings 

So I whisper to the sky 

Your name stitched into every word 

I pray for your safety 

I pray for your strength 

I pray for the day you walk away

You are better the men that wound you

You are bigger than your pain 

You are not just an echo

 of the life our mother chose 

But you have to want more 

You have to choose yourself

This isn’t where your story ends 

So keep going 

And I will keep praying you home. 

By Mian Anais