His brows like bended bows with curly-q’s
His mustache like motorcycle handlebars
His eyes like green gin olives
His hair grey and wavy like ocean whitecaps
His hands immaculate and powerful like a surgeon’s fingers
His figure debonair and statuesque like Fred Astaire
His smile cautious but genuine like Buddha
His memory a journey like the wine that ran in his blood
Dedicated to my grandfather, Ed Mirassou
Take me home mama
To a place I once belonged
Hold my hand steady
And sing to me a song
My face filled with tears
All my family is gone
Take me home mama
To a place I once belonged
Under the grapevine canopy
You taught me to be strong
The hundred year-old oak tree
Dances until dawn
Take me home mama
To a place I once belonged
Peaches and pears your delight
Divine roses a gift from your wife
Your favorite soups and stews
Lamb and veal cooked to and fro
In silence in your hammock
Hoping the sun melts the cancer away
If I were there
I would rub your brow and wet your lips
If I were there
I’d warm your sheets and fluff your pillows
If I were there
I would bring you home under the old oak tree
If I were there
I would fill your house with sunflowers
If I were there
I would sing sweet poetry melody
If I were there
I would lay next to you and comfort you
If I were there
I would read you prayers
If I were there
I would have said goodbye
My knight and shining armor
Foster child of silence
What did you say?
You were always instructed to smile
It was a woman’s way
Your smile is corrugated
You eyes sheathed in despair
You yearn for a rush of happiness
You wear your masks expertly
Until your hidden emotions bleed
You pace and pray to make them go away
But you cannot stay sane in this façade
White padded walls embrace you
Until your soul is cut in two
You finally speak
But no one listens to you
No light on the horizon
Only darkness that ties you down
You don nakedness
You plant your feet in a potted tree
Hoping to go back to a place, safe and serene
Instead on the cusp of losing your mind
You hear voices calling out
Telling you that they love you
You look all around for them
But remain alone in the padded room
Your mental illness you cannot control
It is the monster in your heart that wants to let go
You gather your strength above no other
To put another mask of sanity on your face
You play your façade expertly
And you are released for a time
Until you become a danger to yourself or others again
Where is your gratitude?
Just for today
You have been given multiple chances
Of a second chance at life
Remove the lock and key from your soul
Seek help and slowly let the pain come
Don’t let it drown you
Some memories have been taken away by God
Other’s have endured with his assistance
But what is wisdom and life without trial
Begin to forgive and begin to heal
Let the dragons come head on
With your family by your side
You are not alone
Speak your voice or ink your pen
But do not be a victim
To the demons inside
Take off your running shoes
Go barefoot in earth’s paradise
Walk to the ends of the Earth
And God will kiss your blisters away
You will no longer be despondent
No longer suffocating in your silence
You will remain on the path to freedom
Break from the constant
Begin to live again
Free yourself
Find the courage and the voice
To say goodbye to the old demons
The harmony in your heart is your life-giving force
In sunny solitude
The swelling seas
Erase the bank of haze
Birds begin to sing
A skylark soars in the air
Purple hills of paradise
No longer dampened souls
Tossing and turning in the night
Pearl white peaks
Hypnotize across the planet
The color of strength
Of a rainbow myriad
Green cascading canopies
No longer drinking
Nature’s tears away
With fluorescent green
Humming birds
Under the turquoise sky
The vintage rustic vines
Are revived to a new life
Rejoicing hearts
Of amethysts and emeralds
Are awakened from
The breeze of heaven
Vines whisper in awe
Her sun
Sky sweet bliss
Fountain overflows
To twilight shade
Robed fields of gold
Her young berries
Plump and iridescent
Until harvest comes
She will say goodbye
And again renew
“I wrote this poem when my little sister was born. She is twenty years
my junior and has grown into an amazing young woman.“
Heather Mirassou's Poetry Soul Closet 