Oh, To Be A Sister

Jamie Colley

@byjamiecolley

One night, I peeled my sister’s spine,
Shrugged her skin over my
Shoulders,
Some expensive fur coat,
And I exited into the evening.

Her curves taut on my hips
Her hair hushed against my cheek,
I kissed men with her lips
And they gripped my skin like
They were going to die
Then at dawn, I’d tuck her
Back into her casing, tunica, sheath.

Through my sister, in my sister,
I could see myself.

The next night I dreamed,
Not of her, but of me
Bathed in reverence,
Sun-kissed with seduction,
My own physique
A fuselage of want.

It was the feeling of being removed
That paused my dreams
And when I opened my eyes
There was my sister,
My skin in her hands.

 Jaime Colley is a fourth year Creative Writing and Law student at QUT. She has been published in Concrescence Zine, Verses Magazine, Glass, and the Luna Collective, among others. Her writing often swings wildly between the dark potential of thrillers, the subtle delicacy of relationships, and if she’s feeling especially game, both. Jaime is a proud Taylor Swift fan and has somehow survived this far into her degree without drinking any coffee. Psychotic? She’s aware.

Editors: Willow Ward and Hannah Vesey