Poems for My Family: My Sister

This attempt begins with a humble request.  
The request is lifted to the heavens with all the hope I can muster.  
It shall remain there until two people can commit themselves to an idea.  

We could continue with all the trials, tribulations, successes, and joys of this world.
We can continue living shared lives only in the shadows of holidays and family gatherings.  
We can continue sharing only polite celebrations via the internet.  

But this humble request requires more of us.  
It demands that we give the best of ourselves.  
It requires work that will feel arduous at first, but with time will morph into a new norm.  

We know we cannot fold the map in half.  
We know Washington will never border Kansas.  
We know we will never be neighbors.  

The humble request still lingers.  
It is so simple, yet so much depends on its success.  
I, for one, find myself willing to try.  

I miss the sister of my childhood.  
I long for the moments we should have shared together.  
I need the sister my adulthood demands.  

Still, the humble request lingers.  
It lingers still under a banner in heaven that acknowledges we both could have done better.  
Soon, acknowledgement will give way to an ask to do more.  

I am willing to do the work.  
In all my relationships, both big and small.  
I am willing to meet the demands of this request for you, for me, and for us.  

Be good to each other,  

Nathan