Today I saw your smile in the sunset

Blooming over the snow you

Wouldn't call home.

It danced out over the clouds,

Shone its warmth as far as I could see

Through the confines of the window by the stairs.

Never will the sunset ask

For compensation, praise

Or pity as it succumbs to the night.

You

give and

give your light

To them, to us

To me.

Sometimes I wonder if you know

How much I’ve needed your rays

To find the wick of my candle.

Yesterday I heard your singing in the lunch line as my

headphones thrummed a Noah Kahan song I’d

have only sung with you.

In the quiet of the too-late studying nights

And the chaos of the stage

And the eager running to your door

To share the latest anything of a thought

And the shoulder to cry on

And the hands that always cheered

For it all

For nothing at all

When I needed confidence

And you needed a friend

And we both needed a sister

Tomorrow the geese will fly south

And maybe you will turn,

Pause in your reading,

Set down your tea,

And in the bright, southern, city lights

You will remember me as they soar by in the sunset.

A junior at Maine Central Institute (MCI) in Pittsfield, Maine, PALOMA KILLORAN wishes for the time to write about anything, but due to scheduling, only writes what cannot not be said. “To My Texan Twin,” based on Paloma’s own experience living in the MCI dorms, describes the bond unique to two boarding students developing a kind of surrogate familial bond, only for one to graduate and move on. Paloma’s aforementioned lack of writing time can often be attributed to time spent on other passions, such as dancing ballet, performing, hiking in the Camden Hills, baking, reading, making earrings, attending (many) school-organized clubs, and dancing ballet (yes, the repetition is intentional).

"Letter To My Texan Twin" by Paloma Killoran (Somerset County)