I watch, and there's nothing that I can do.
She keeps you there, locked in that tiny, one-room apartment
While she goes out and has fun

Dealing cards and going to clubs
While you're left there, with only a television and your thoughts
Your brothers have long since left
Retreating to the not-so-great haven of your father's house

There, they smoke pot, play video games, and do nothing with their lives
But it's better than being locked in that tiny, one-room apartment

I watch, as we lose the signal again
The phone doesn't work well there
And I watch, with increasing guilt

I have all my things, my art, my writing, my computer,
Several things to entertain myself with
While all you have is a television and thoughts
In a tiny, one-room apartment

Although only cousins, we've been closer than sisters all of our lives
Living together for over half of it when she decided she couldn't be bothered with her children
Living no more than twenty minutes away when her latest scam didn't work
And she had to move back home

We cling together as our mothers -sisters- scream at each other
They disagree with each other on how to raise us
Your mom grabs you, tearing you away from me
And leaves, refusing us a simple good-bye
She keeps you in that tiny, one-room apartment
While she gambles and plays
Forgetting about her only daughter

We were always there for each other
Talking about everything
My father leaving, yours coming back into your life
My mother to busy with work to pay attention to her children
Yours to busy with her cons and boyfriend to remember her children

But now your hours away,
And we no longer can talk
Share our dreams, playfully argue over silly things

Blood says we're only cousins, but you're my sister as far as I'm concerned
And as I watch you fade, the fours white walls of that tiny, one-room apartment,
Affecting your mind, making you more and more withdrawn,
All I want is to have my big sister back.