In Memoriam: The Poem

Even though I had been warned this was going to happen, I had never really believed that Judy would die. I hoped against hope right to the end, taking comfort from each little improvement provided by a change in medication, or a treatment with radiotherapy.

 

I was in a shellshocked state. I woke early the next morning and went for a long walk before breakfast, up to the summit of One Tree Hill and back through the Epsom streets, quiet as only a Sunday morning can be. By the time I returned, a poem had formed in my mind and I determined to use it for the funeral as a memorial to Judy.

Here it is:

For Judy, 27 November 1973

 

 

We brought you roses, blood-velvet, red;

And all day long your eyes,

Your laughing eyes looked back and said,

“I love you, Dad.”

 

I brought you gladioli, moonstruck, white,

Straight from the garden, blood-drops at the throat;

And all day long your golden eyes looked back;

“I’m happy, Dad,” they said.

 

We brought you ferns and chunky, tall forest trees,

With spiders, wetas, crawling on the bark;

And waterfalls and rocks, and mountain peaks.

“I believe in God,” was what you said.

 

We brought you orchids, cold and waxen,

With butterfly-brooches on their breasts;

Your deep, deep eyes looked back and said,

“I’m scared, Dad.”

 

They brought carnations, tight and crisp,

Scarlet and white and gold, orange and red;

And all day long your eyes looked hard and far;

“I’m tired, Dad,” was all they said.