Sorority, Indeed

An intriguing coincidence or, possibly, fate:
The woman went into labor on the afternoon
Of New Year’s Eve. The struggle lived up to its
Name, and she sweat and grunted for hours
Until, finally, the doctors had caught a glimpse
Of a tiny crown peeking out into the world.

The world waited with long-held breaths
As the locals filled bars and living room screens
To usher in another new year. ‘Tis an annual party
Where we are all invited in one hour increments.

The first, a girl, dark hair pasted against her
Miniscule forehead from her turbulent arrival.
The second, another girl, gulped her first lung-
Full of air and belted out a squealing wail.

The doctors and nurses couldn’t help but smirk
At the strangeness of it all: two girls already so
Unlike that they seemed to have agreed upon it.
The first born in one year, the other quite after.

Though twins, their sisterhood became something
Of a joke. They were polar opposites in all the ways
One could think of for two people to be
Different.

MSBQ

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