In Memoriam -
Alan (1926 - 2015)
Was it you there?
Carried in the back of that car?
The car that rolled down the slope
Slowly behind the woman walking in black
Between the chattering couples
The reunions of groups of old friends
Who paused just for a moment
To turn and stare in silence
And watch its cargo unloaded
Was it you there? Laid out cold in the box?
The box of thin plywood and recoverable fittings
Adorned with a large spray of red roses
The most colourful thing in the chapel
Dispelling the gloom of the grey
In a room full of near-strangers
Come together to pay their respects
To a man they’d not seen in a decade
Was it you there? Alone in the darkness?
The darkness that echoed with grave words
An attempted commemoration of life
Built on third-party anecdotes
And a sprinkling of inspirational quotes
Drawn from a stock library of such things
Delivered without feeling or fervour
For form’s sake on a cold January day
No, of course you weren’t there,
You never were when you lived
So why make an exception in death?
That was you labouring with shift-work
That was you playing and coaching rugby
That was you that drank us all under the table
Charming your way through a hard life
With a laugh, a joke and a twinkling eye
That was you…
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