The Elixir
It began with nectar weeping
from your tear ducts.
Your mother shone like a martyr.
It dripped from your nostrils
– the ambrose became mixed
with the stink of the house.
It oozed from your ears,
hardened. Your father called you
pig-headed for not heeding orders.
It seeped through your pores.
Then the swirling black moods of the house,
the crushed spirits, disowned pain,
stuck to the sweet of your skin.
Hélène Demetriades‘ debut collection, The Plumb Line, joint winner of the Hedgehog Press Full Fat Collection Competition 2020, was published in June 22. She is also the winner of the Silver Wyvern, Poetry On The Lake Competition, 2022. www.helenedemetriadespoetry.