Open oceans cannot stop these tides
Of grief, the trickle and splash of sorrow
Over-spilling rivers, bursting through sides
Of lakes with the constant ebb and flow,
Deceived by the duplicity of a cancerous
Two-faced moon. I believed that blood
Was thicker but you turned hazardous
And you broke the fragile bond of sisterhood.
The density of water, particularly the salty kind,
Allows me to float on the surface of my grief,
Washing the guilt away, clearing my murky mind,
Only my heart is still tossed like a leaf.
© Kim M. Russell, 2016
– illdispose.deviantart.com
My response to Mindlovemisery’s MenageriePhoto Challenge #131 and linked to imaginary garden with real toads The Tuesday Platform
writing in north norfolk 
Deep!!! lovely poem.
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Thank you so much!
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Powerful words. Betrayal is more destructive when it comes from a heart that beats in rhythm with your own.
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Thank you, Joseph. That is so true.
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Betrayal always comes as a shock when it’s from those we’ve innocently trusted. This is excellent.
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Thank you, Tim. It was a hard one to write.
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takes me back to “Et tu, Brute?”, passionate write
much love…
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Thanks Gillena, much love winging its way back to you!
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Kim, this rips into the heart and scrapes at the bones… especially the last three lines of the first stanza. Good gracious, those words conjure up such pain and disappointment (even rage).
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Thank you, Magaly, you’ve seen right through it! It’s linked to a poem I posted on 23rd July, called Pleiades. It’s a pain I’ve been carrying around with me for a few years now and every once in a while it slips out.
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I hope these slips are signs of healing… ♥
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Thanks Magaly 🙂
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You are born to a family, but you get to choose your friends.
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Yes, this is something I have thought about and it’s true. It just makes me feel sad.
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There is an old Jewish saying: Blood is thicker than water and so is chicken soup! Been there.
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I think I’ve hear that one before – it’s true. Thank you for reading and commenting!
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Beautiful, yet so full of hurt — the sensual images you gave are heart-stopping, and unfortunately I think there are many women who will memories of this. I do. Keep loving, keep yourself open – even through the storm, maybe especially through the storm – in order to heal. Hard for me, but necessary. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you for reading, Stacie. This was a difficult one to write.
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The bonds of sisterhood are strong, so your description of them breaking carries great impact.
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Thank you, Kerry.
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I read deceit and sorrow into your words, of course the stronger the bond the more it hurts to break them apart. The image of a cancerous moon and the density of water will linger with me…
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It was a tough one to write and I’m having trouble reading it back to myself.
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Omg heartbreaking. And the way you formatted the poem, the rhyming, the tone, everything works to deliver a truly painful story.
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Thank you for reading, Jade, and for your kind comments.
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This was deceptively challenging and complex. Very satisfying word usage too.
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A hard one to write…
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i have come to convince myself that betrayal comes from judgement and expectations. i am trying to mitigate the two and just embrace what is presented to me. i am but a mirror reflecting thus.
i wish us all to mend
gracias
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Thank you, Marcoantonio!
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Ohhhh I really feel this, deeply, personally. xoxox & thank you.
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Thank you for reading and commenting, Marian!
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This poem is heartbreaking, at least for me, because I can relate to it, especially the part ” believed that blood
Was thicker but you turned hazardous
And you broke the fragile bond of sisterhood.”
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I think there are quite a few of us who have difficult or non-existent relationships with siblings. I hope you’re not suffering too much. It has taken me two years or so to be able to talk and write about it.
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I suffer, but I tend to overcrowd my life with things that need my love and attention, so I don’t constantly think of that suffering.
It will always hurt, and I think it always should and it hurts even more when you see the same thing everywhere you look. It makes me think:Why are almost all sibling relationships I know of, exactly like this, like mine, broken? And the constant repetition of the motive of one side always giving and the other side always taking. It hurts when I don”t see togetherness in a family, instead of that, I more and more see roles, to fulfill and be done, receive a prize.
I hope you are growing Ok too with your sorrow, and that you too have stuff pouring into your life that demand love and this togetherness.
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I miss talking to my little sister but I am kind of coming to terms with the thought that I might never see or speak to her again. I left it with her – if she ever needs me she know where I am.
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And I would say that is the best that you can do, and I do hope the final outcome of it is love.
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🙂
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