June Fellows part 2

Today, May 2nd, was my mum's funeral. It was an amazing turnout with the chapel absolutely packed, a lovely service and a chance, albeit for a sad reason, to catch up with family.

I also discovered my family had managed to create poetry where, so far, I haven't to celebrate her life. My daughter Naomi wrote this - her first poem other than the ones she may have been forced to create at school. She then, with great courage, read it out at the funeral service.

The Captain and the Ship

The spray hits the mast,
damp chill hanging in the air.
Drifting in gloomy dark waters,
With wind whipping through your hair.

The ship takes hit after hit
As the waves start crashing in.
A feeling of being lost
Or something like dread can creep in.

Yet what’s good to remember
In such a dire situation.
Is the resilience of the captain
Out there leading her nation.

For if the ship was to crash,
End up wounded and so broken.
She will feel the pain right with it,
Whispering words so softly spoken.

For if the ship was to sink,
Seems like it’s close to drowning.
She stays right on board with it,
For sense of familiar surrounding.

But there’s lighthouses for storms,
beaming through the swells that mock.
The captain embraces the shine,
To guide away from the rock.

She calls upon the anchor
At a timing so precise.
Not so soon to limit freedom,
But when staying still seems nice.

Then cruising through the calm
Is something not to miss.
The captain takes it in her stride,
Absorbing her tranquil bliss.

She’s the leader, the protector.
Without her things stand still
Yet the ship must learn to drive itself
With some strength and a bit of self will.

Naomi Fellows 2018

My sister Jill wrote this one, which I read out at the committal. She also wrote and delivered a fabulous eulogy. I love these poems - they have set a high bar for me to achieve when, I hope, my poem comes to me.

Looking For You

I'll look for you in all my milestones 

Through the decades still to come.

I'll look for you throughout life's changes

All the races still to run.

And yet, I know that looking isn't needed,

For in so many moments, you'll be there.

You're there in every pink-tinged sunrise

Every golden sunset, every quiet prayer.

You're there in happy children's laughter

There in music, there in song;

You're in the gentle springtime breezes

There as summer days grow long

You're there in every bright dawn chorus

There as starlight fills the evening sky

You're there in winter's first crisp frosts, and

There in white clouds rolling by. 

You're in the misty autumn mornings

There as waves break on the shore

You're there when friends all meet together

There beside me, evermore.

And when, in years to come

A younger hand with tender care

Takes my own, and holds it fast in theirs

I'll look for you, and You'll be there. 

Jill Vavasour 2018