My voice-reading facility kicks in

as I listen to the recording

with forensic precision it deciphers

her answering-machine message
one part frightened, two parts breathless

My sister sounds harried, almost asthmatic

and that’s her work voice

Oh dear. I’m too far away
and powerless in any case

still in the grip of

eldest-sister

God-complex
I put on my pink satin slippers

switch to Cinderella. Pola stops by

to lick my chin. She doesn’t

need saving