We share secrets like couples share a bed

Close, intimate, you laugh and

We rarely whisper.

That day we sat poolside

And discussed life, both tired and hot,

I realized that we are

The same person.

How could we possibly separate?

I sit here unaware of what life will be like

Someday when I step out of that car

And into the real world,

But somehow knowing you'll be

Wide-eyed,

Suitcase in hand, beside me,

Makes me feel like I can't possibly be scared.

Of course, today you left me behind.

I'm a kid still,

And you an adult,

And I'm just a chipped porcelain teacup in the set,

Curled up on a pink bed in a pink room,

Flowers falling out of my hair.

You seem to me a ravishing beauty,

And though I can't be jealous of you, I still am,

But your victories are still mine,

Because I do love you, with all my heart.

So on this day that you became an adult,

No one will notice the difference, except

Me, because I'll be behind you, trying to pick up

The petals you dropped and tuck them behind my ear,

Desperate to be the same and different all at once.

You are an adult, and I'm just a girl.

And while I love you, I must tell you,

I am still afraid.

Maybe you can comfort me,

And be there when the last flowers fall to the ground

Behind us.