My husband is going to a funeral today. Ron was a dearly loved teacher who I only met a couple of times, but he made an instant impression on me and I wrote a poem about him. Or at least I started it. It’s a snapshot of a brief visit to Ron’s house when I warmed to him straight away as he joked about making black coffee. But that poem was never finished. Looking at it again reminded me of a piece I did complete, after visiting another lovely elderly man called Geoff. I only popped in to leave something for his wife but the encounter stayed with me.
Onions
for Geoff
As I arrived he apologised
that the house smelled of onions.
He vanished then reappeared,
proudly holding a freezer bag
packed with his morning’s work.
The wife can’t do it for crying, he said,
So I chop them up while she’s away.
© Heather Wastie
June 2010
