Champion   My first roommate, my first friend, my first foe — my sister. My first memory is you, serene in your baby world, long ago on Poplar Street. What did we know of who we would be? Even then, learning to crawl, were you dreaming of cinder tracks and tennis courts — of winning, outrunning us all? You were born to compete, to run, and when you ran for Poison Spider, with those spikes I envied, you were running for your life. When did our rivalry turn to love? I keep all the Pollys close — champion, wife, banker, mom, lover of parties and noise, sister in sorrow. Your joys are my joys.     © Michael Fleming Brattleboro, Vermont September 2020