Good-Bye Sister

Don’t they know I can hear?
I’m only a room away
Their shouts reach a deafening crescendo
But I can’t turn or sway

It’s impossible to block out
I most don’t want to listen
He shouts profanities, loud objections
Down her cheek her tears glisten

Remember, you love her,
I urge him silently,
She’s your daughter, you need her
I pray here quietly

My sister, stay here
You’re my one and only
At least one more year
You can’t just leave me lonely

We were little
We called him daddy
When you saw him
You lit up gladly

Now you shout and you scream,
Don’t any of you care how I feel?
Your anger blinds you
I bite back words of steel

There is one last shout,
I hear her maddened cry,
She slams the door, runs out the house
I can’t even say good-bye