06/08/2012

LATE HAVE I LOVED THEE

This is neither about Ethel Mannin’s nor St Augustine’s books. It’s about an old woman I neglected during several years and whose memory haunts me even today. I last saw her on her death bed, in coma, surrounded by some of her children and grandchildren. The sight moved me to write this short poem:


The happy face
has gone,
and in its place
a line or two to mark the passing of the years.
The tears
like waterfalls have carved their way
and left their trace.

Tonight, sitting at my desk by the open window, refreshed by a cool Mediterranean breeze, after another hot summer day, I can’t help thinking about her quiet dignity and resignation in the face of the abysmal darkness that surrounded her. As I approach the twilight of my years, I realise what a phone call, or even a few lines, from time to time, would have meant for her.

Kennedy said: “Think not of what your country can do for you, but rather of what you can do for your country.”
I say: “Think not of what your parents can do for you, but rather of what you can do for your parents.”

I’m sorry, mum; so much more I could have done.

1 comment:

funtimejokes.net said...

It is really tricky riddle, I love riddles, Puzzles, Fun and Jokes collection
Please check answer of this riddle
I have lakes with no water, mountains with no stone and cities with no buildings. What am I?| with Answer