IDEALISTIC HELEN, SINGING TO OPEN DOORWAYS
you
face south in winter
ideals of flight
soak more than will
and isolation still peeks in
the film of saccharine moisture
these dreams
that i
withstood in thresholds
your Helen antithesis
painted bliss
in the glowing, hollow cheeks of doorways
singing tunes
that were
forgotten long ago

IDEALISTIC HELEN, SO SHE RESPONDS
you make it a whisper in a jostling
a joke
to make the response soft as your conviction — as the day you saw this revelation
and
closed the door
quietly
so no one would know
you were a coward from your roots
and i sang you off my porch
alike the bastard puppy dog
you mimic ( so disgracefully )
a charmer without the ear or voice to carry
even a single, obtuse tune