Elaine E. Kelso 

Albuquerque, New Mexico 

Poetry paints with words; creates music with rhythmic flow; soothes broken spirits; invokes tears and laughter. I discovered poetry amidst harsh, impoverished surroundings, and found beauty and comfort. At the age of seven or eight, I wrote my first "poem." By age twelve, Edgar Allen Poe's exquisite lyrics were alive in my heart and head. After raising two children, I was able to once more write the words that had been accumulating in my heart for so many years. Thus, half a century after discovering poetry, I have become a "published" poet, thanks to the encouragement from my publishers: THE NATIONAL, LIBRARY OF POETRY! I have also written children's stories in verse. These manuscripts have never been submitted for publication, but have been enjoyed by elementary school children in Las Vegas, New Mexico. 

My Brother

He walked with a jaunty, slightly arrogant stride
Sinewy arms swinging rhythmically at his side
Lean and strong, he imparted inure of height
Fair of countenance, green eyes at wrinkle with delight.

He was the smile make; the light in the storm
The light offered courage; the smile kept us warm
How we missed his presence when he was away
Waiting eagerly his return, praying fervently he'd stay.

But life goes on; from lad to man so kind and good
He moved out o our lives into marriage  and fatherhood
Still; he'd turn up when we needed a friend
Bringing the light of his smile, sad hearts to mend.

We became adults, each going her separate way
Enmeshed in private struggles, losing track of fleeting days
How could we imagine that he's ever lose his stride
His sinewy arms  atrophy;  his strength subside?

Paralyzed; a frail, gaunt figure in a wheelchair
Forsaken by his family, he was consumed by despair
It was my turn to be smile maker;  a light in the storm
To offer him courage; to keep him safe and warm.

His eyes met mine as he lay near death
As though longing to speak, but lacing the breath
Soon his courageous spirit soared, free as a bird
He had bade me farewell, though he spoke no word.

I see his eyes twinkle in the stars at night
Imagine him striding jauntily; strong and upright
Keeping watch over little sisters and daughters down here
Like a Guardian Angel, encouraging us to preservere.

Elaine E. Kelso

In riotous profusion the Sweetbrier bloomed
Amid hybrid roses so tidily groomed
Fragrant and enchanting were the roses it bore
Cruelly keen the spiked thorns that it wore.

So rosy and sturdy in it's infancy
They nurtured the Sweetbrier lovingly
Pruning; trimming the wildness away
Secured to a trellis, they willed it to stay.

But wild grows the bonny Sweetbrier
Untamed by shears or wire
Sadly they watched it spread through the meadow
Where it challenged the unruly Hedgerow.

Oft' she gazed from the edge of the meadow
When dewy morn set the sweetbrier aglow
Impetuously it stretched out hither and yon
With fragrant pink roses newly opened at dawn.

Pestilence among the Hedgerow grew rife
Infecting the Sweetbrier, slowly sapping it's life
She came to the Sweetbrier and wept at the sight
Once Vigorous and comely, ''twas now defeated by blight.

With shears from her pocket she snipped here and there
''Twas all in vain, but it eased her despair
A fragile pink bud, ne'er to bloom, drooped help-
lessly forlorn
And when she reached for the bud, her heart was
pierced by a thorn.