A Year On

14th April 2016
I was going to do the napowrimo challenge again this year but having lost my dad suddenly two weeks ago, I just haven't  been able to  concentrate . So today, with the warmth from the sun on my shoulder and a small  gap in the clouds of my grief, I thought I'd just take a look back at my blog for this day last year and see if I wanted to say anything in response to it.
I remember that day. We had had a very busy weekend . Lots of family had come for the baptism of little Rose.
We shopped and filled the cupboards , got all the bedding out  and undid some boxes that had kitchen stuff in as we'd been preparing to move and had a lot of things packed away.
The table was overflowing for days, the kettle was continually being filled for the endless cups of tea, the shower seemed to be constantly in use and it was difficult to find a space to sit down. But we loved every minute of it. The conversations with teenage grandchildren the ad hoc poetry sessions with the younger grandaughters  and time spent chatting and debating as only our family can.
We have moved house since then and are no longer just in front of the sea. A year has passed . The new house is a lot smaller, but we are waiting to have the place filled with that life once more.
Rose and her mum and dad have moved  away and now live in Shropshire. Although we wish them well , we miss them a lot.


Day 14: 14th April, 14th poem

Not being able to create a philosophical thought today I will just ponder on the quiet after the busy dance of the last week, which has been enormously enjoyable, albeit a little tiring.

Since You Left

The house is lonely -  the silence so loud.

The shower ,  its constant hum of running water,

Now stands quiet

The baby -early morning cries - a call to live.

Teenage girls spraying perfume- feint hints still  in air,

Talking - echoes of their laughter-  falls  

like timeless ghosts embedded in walls.

Toddler - wandering, following, constant questions 

Table overflowing, bursting , bubbling with chatter.

Singing boys and girls at kitchen sink- never ending dishes to clean.

Every room, every space  full, Fridge tightly packed.

All empty now - all vast , all hollow.

 the silence so loud - the house is empty

Photo of grandparents and great grandparents, with Ryan (Dad) Lucy (Mum) and of course, the star of the show, Baby Rose.