My friend, my sister

My friend, my sister --

I recall the days of backyard games,
And birthday cakes
With both our names;
Two days
were all that separated us
From being one.

My friend, my sister --

We never left the cheer of youth
In times we fell;
Scraped knees, wiped tears --
Our aches forgotten
Even after
We were beaten and bruised by life.

My friend, my sister --

Now that you are not here,
That laughter of yours
Lives inside me with your ever
lovely smile.
I still see you out of the corner of my eye.

My friend, my sister --

I see your chestnut eyes;
Beautiful as a sunset in summer
And as spellbinding as your
Cascading hair
And charisma of your peacock walk.

My friend, my sister --

I can’t forget your generous heart;
Its unwavering loyalty to
Everyone you met,
Its constant care for
The two lives
You bore and all the tears it shed.

My friend, my sister --

And each day I remember you,
I do so with the joy
Of knowing you;
I’m grateful for having had you
As my friend, my sister.
Know that my love is truer than blood.

My friend, my sister --
　
　
2010 Helena Malheur

Rage

Since inception I have lived with this,
Calm as still water,
Blue veins and black blood,
The visible traces of life
Outlined in indelible ink on my skin.

I have the heart of a lion beating
through my chest,
Wild and free yet hollow --
A wormhole, cavities of decay from neglect --;
There is no room for regret, only rage

With more fury than the most violent winds.
Quiet as a mouse,
The ravenous animal eats
Away at my logic, 

Resolute in its purpose

Of unlocking the fiery limbs chained

To my tongue

And tucked behind white teeth.

Merciless is their reach, like liquid lava

Engulfing everyone on its path.

2010 Helena Malheur
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One Shot Wednesday: week21 at One Stop Poetry - Where Poets, Writers and Artists Meet.

Scream

 Inspired by the painting "The Scream" by Edvard Munch



a scream shoots itself into
the bloody clouds and black
tar sea, staining silence.
It rips everything from the root
and throws it to the wind,
dismantles peace from its
concrete base and watches it
storm off into space,
away from the moon’s gaze -
beyond the stars reach.

2010 Helena Malheur

The Scream - by Edvard Munch

Supplicate soliloquy

an old post brought back to spotlight- For my mother

My supplicate soliloquy

was stifled yet again,

upstaged by your shadow.

I hear your voice in raindrops

tapping on my window,

knocking on my mind‘s door.

The redolent scent of your room

is wrapped around my neck

like a tarnished necklace

I refuse to throw out.

I prayed to forget your sadness

in the weight of that graying room,

where clouds of silence floated 

on the ceiling of your youth.

I remember you still, laying limp,

your mind chasing your frail body.

Time, that wretched beast

had taken you hostage,

stolen your wisdom

and drowned you in despair.

Helena Malheur © 2008

Imagination

in a back yard
as vast as Africa,
fields of red earth
bubble jeweled in
dimples of toes;

the putter of little feet
chase echoing giggles,
past the footprints
of purple elephants
plucked out of dreams.

wide eyes float above
sun kissed cheeks,
beyond the desert sky
and into rainforests
of the Amazon.

tiny hands clasp
knots of imagination,
climb higher
than birds nesting
golden eggs atop

a giant tree sprinkled
with magic, where
branches bow to
an emerald throne and
a crown of butterflies.

© 2010 Helena Malheur