I bought some flowers for you today
Arranged them for you, as if you’d stayed,
Double pink roses in a crystal vase,
Memories evoked from your garden past

I sat at your piano again today
Remembering how you loved to play,
Closing my eyes, I somehow still hear
The songs and melodies you held so dear

I booked a table for lunch today
With one extra place, as if you’d stayed,
Ordered your favourite, of course dessert!
Hoping the sweetness might heal the hurt

I lit a candle for you today
Whispered a prayer as you did each day,
Thanked the Lord for your time on Earth,
Sitting alone in the quiet church

I wrote a card for you today
Toasted your birthday as if you’d stayed,
In it, I wrote how I wish there could be
Just one more birthday to spend with me

I hugged your sweater again today
The one you wore on cozy days,
It smells of you, your sweet clean scent,
Believing for a moment that you never went

I used your teapot again today
Poured for you as if you’d stayed,
With memories of dreams our hearts had shared,
Sitting across from your empty chair

I walked on the beach in the wind today
Enjoyed the briskness despite the grey,
Just my prints now on the wintry sand,
And memories of times when you’d held my hand

I wrote this poem for you today,
Aware that the years have swept time away,
Memories of you so freshly penned,
With my love for you, my absent friend.

 

For Rita and Mary, who are loved and missed.

© Anne Herridge  2017

www.anneherridge.ca