The shades, thousands of them really

All of the blue that he saw

In her eyes

The night they drove past the

Freeway exit sign

She closed her eyes one last time

In the eyes a girl with

Dirt blond hair

Who’s laughter mirrored

The wails of a mother

She laughed when

Things really weren’t funny

Because they had left their home

Her father to remarry

She hated August, she hated June

They found her as stubborn as

As any fool could be

She shouted when she was upset

More often she would cry than

laugh anymore; she had lost everything

“I wanna go back”

That’s all she would say

When they tried to get her to school

She would scream her mama’s name

But she was stuck with the life now

She was used to it being so peaceful

Back where the snow was

But that trip to the hospital,

That day mum never came back

She discovered she was alone

Be her father had a girl to watch

The one who had seen it all

“Abbey, this is your new sister”

Abbey didn’t scream nor cry

But held her sister’s hand and bowed

She learned that she was not alone

The Montana girl lived

Nowhere close there now

But she learned that her

New sister would need her

So as the plane ride took them away

With the sister with bright blond hair

Abbey crossed her heart

Breathed on the plane window

Saying, “goodbye Montana Girl”