Behind this veil I wear
Of soft smiles and calm demeanor
Cuts a knife of sorrow deep,
No blade was ever keener.
A rope of tears binds my heart
And ties it tight with grief.
Though on the surface I'm serene,
I'm screaming deep beneath.
This veil obsqures the world
And creates of it mere shadows
As I drift around in half-light
Blown wher'ere the wind goes.
Lost in memories, bitter sweet,
…
So, I'm standing in the supermarket, and, as you do, I start chatting to the woman behind me at the check out. I've not had a good day, and her bright smile and chatter is welcome and pleasant and gives a sense of "normality" Neither of us has done any shopping for Christmas, not one mince pie, not one present so far, no tree up, and I start to warm to her, maybe I'm not so odd...... I'm not the only…
No cheery reply
To answer my calls.
Only shadows of words
Bouncing off walls.
Just silence to greet me,
I switch on the TV,
Grab a disc from a pile,
Turn it up loud,
You know the ones.................. they're only funny because your dad told you them. My dad had a way of drawing me in and making me think he was telling me about an event that really happened. At the time I groaned at both of these when he reached the end, but now they are precious memories of my funny dad. He would strike up a conversation and slip them in somewhere, clever!
Whilst telling me this first story…
I am the echo of my parents. Their DNA resonates through me, vibrates through my children and strikes a beautiful chord in my grandchildren. I echo my parents names, Joan for mum, and dad was Francis, I am Joan Frances. My nephew Nick is the echo of my father at 18, the same lopsided smile, and that echo bounces off his younger brother, Will, who so young, already has some of my fathers features. My half sister is the echo…
