Twin Envy

Justin Jannise

I am jealous of “my twin”—

the phrase, not the person.

I do not have a twin

as far as I’m aware

but Emily does

and when she drops “my twin”

into brunch, as casually

as she’ll slip her AmEx

out of a leather billfold,

I am filled with twin envy.

I want help from someone

more or less just like me

to take care of my parents and

ratify my worst decisions.

I want to say it

and have it be true:

“This is my twin.”

Why does being one

sound so much less

than being half of two?