Helen Burns Remembers Jane Eyre

Helen Burns Remembers Jane Eyre

My dear Jane,
How I remember her
And our days together
Those years spent at Lowood
The harsh schooling
The lack of food
The typhus thick in the air

But I had her,
Her mousey brown hair
And ordinary face
My plain Jane

I would watch her absentmindedly braid her hair
My instinct was to remind her that she would get in trouble if she was caught
With her hair like that
They would say it was ungodly and immodest
But it was so pretty, I couldn’t
They looked like the embroidery patterns they made us practice until our fingers bled

Together, we would walk the length of the Lowood’s property
Talking about the books we’ve read and the lives we would live once we got out of here
Away from the endless sermons and hypocritical authorities

Back then I thought once we left that wretched place,
The only authority over us would be God
I don’t believe that anymore
Now I only dream of heaven

I remember how she held me
The night I passed

Jane, I’m so sorry I left you alone