Leave taking

Leave taking

The prompt today is to write an elegy,  to honour the memory of someone, with a note of hopefulness in it.  This poem,  written not long after my dad died,  isn't exactly an elegy but certainly contains the sense of hope and loss.


You smiled at me
I know you did.

Never mind what the doctors said
Seeking to reduce my distress at your condition
What do they really know?
Half truths designed to reassure and soothe.

They weren't there when I called your name
And you looked at me and smiled.

They weren't there when you winked at me
And I asked you in amazement -
Did you just wink at me? You did,  didn't you?
And you - oh so slowly -
Pointed with your finger at your eye
And smiled again.

They say that from the time the stroke hit
You would have felt no pain
Would have been unaware of where you were
Or who was with you.

But they weren't there when I said goodbye
And you smiled and cupped your good hand round my elbow
Like you always do to reassure me.

Sometimes the truth is different from reality.
And even if you were not really there
I know you were smiling at me, Dad
And I love you for that.

Rest in peace.



© Copyright 2018. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved

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