meant to be

mi familia

Meant To Be

I love seeing her with my mother.
I love that for my mom.

Sunlight comes back
into my mother’s eyes
when she’s with my sister.

Three sons, all grown,
and then—this little girl.
Like life said,
“Here. The daughter you always wanted.”

I’d always wanted a sister, too.
So when she came,
it felt like the universe whispered,
“She’s for all of you.”

When I was in the hospital, dying,
she carried more than a little sister should—
there for me,
there for our mother,
holding up the edges
of a breaking family.

I wish she knew
how bad I feel
that she had to see her brother like that.

I wish she knew
how proud I am
of the woman she’s becoming,
how she walked through that darkness
and still brings my mother sunlight,
still brings me hope.

She was always meant to be here—
my little sister,
my mom’s second chance,
our reminder
that the universe
still sends miracles
in human form.t