During the summer I was lucky enough to have one of my poems ‘The Shining Light’ published in a collection of short stories, essays, poetry, and musings on generations.
It examines the generation gap with all the privileges and challenges, differences and similarities of every age. It asks us to think about generational labels and why their individual definitions matter. With contributions from teenagers through to the more mature, our contributors look at society, money, sex, politics and underwear!
Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. Someone develops it every three minutes and there’s currently no cure.
All proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Society.
I wrote the draft of his poem several years ago, when I was doing some research on my family history. My sister and I visited the small village where my Mum was born, and we spent some time in the village church yard looking for possible relatives. We ended up finding quite a few, and sadly one ‘Leonard’ who had died in the second world war. Here is the poem.
You are resting now
in your double-bedded graves
the open bible
a pillow for your memories.
I know who you are
your names are etched on its pages
as clear as you were once in each other’s lives.
A bitter wind catches my thoughts
with only the sunshine to make me forget
the coldness in my hands
as I scribble down your names.
Thomas, Lizzie, Leonard, Leah, Amelia, Louisa.
You to will have shivered in this coldness
not so long ago
and heard the birds echoing melodies
across the churchyard
just as I do now.
I fight tears of recognition
along the forgotten churchyard path
the path your footsteps will have shuffled
in childhood anticipation, adult love
and weary old age.
You are resting now
I know who you are
the shining light through the stained-glass window
the rainbow dancing across the altar
a pillow for my memories.
moving poem
Thank you.