THE SISTERS

Quietly, with great dignity,
she draws up her knees
in a corner of the room and opens
The Sorrows of Young Werther.

The other two are polishing their nails
as the TV blares. The eldest
doesn't hear it. Autumn comes.
Werther revisits his hometown, rejoices
in the linden tree's maternal
shade. Already within him, the snow
has begun to fall.

A shard of empathy
breaks off and lodges in her heart.