For my sister



Rosmarie Spiegel-Umiker, October 19, 1929 – April 15, 1997

In Memoriam

Back then, we tried once again                             
to cram a year’s worth of feelings
into one week,
letting our thoughts float
in the vast stillness.
Before us mountain peaks
drained away into the summer night.
Now your face is tucked in a frame
on the shrine next to the flowers
and the candle I light every night.
It looks my way with a warm
or mischievous smile, 
depending on the way the light falls. 
Your sanctuary lies in my heart
in little heaps of joy and sorrow.
I think of you often,
of the times we sat together
gazing at the lit church
on the hill above Santa Maria, 
our bodies suffused in the evening glow,
you, leaning back into the
lime-green sofa pillow, and I
leaning into you.

(From The Path of Fire by Christa Polkinhorn)

2 Responses to “For my sister”

  1. Darlene Says:
    April 16th, 2015 at 3:29 pm

    A lovely poem for your lovely sister. I too know what it is like to lose a sibling. I lost my 19 year old brother Tim, forty years ago. I still remember him fondly.

  2. author Christa Polkinhorn Says:
    April 16th, 2015 at 4:14 pm

    Thank you, Darlene. My sister was 18 years older than me. She died in her sixties, much too young. Fortunately, her children, my nephew and nieces, and I have a good and close relationship.