I remember you
looking almost
Audrey Hepburnish.
My big sister
& oh...that smile!
Touching my world
with the wonder of her
love.
We are Christmasing
the place
living in the candle's
glow
love
nothing but love
in almost slow motion.
The holly bites
your little finger.
I suck
the dropp of blood
that grows
& grows
until it is
kissed better.
You laugh:
'Ah...my little saviour! '
sighed with an almost
mock Victorian swoon.
Tiny curls
cling
to the nape of her
neck
like the tinest
of tiny seahorses.
We swimn
in the sea
of our laughter.
The next Christmas
you were dead
lost to this
world
leaving me
alone
to mourn
you.
I...unable to
save you.
Now...all these years
later
(years you never knew)
the holly
bites my little finger
& I suck it
quickly
tasting through
my tears
the sweet tang
of your blood
so alive
in my mouth.
Dónall Dempsey
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/tiny-clinging-curls-for-lyn/