Our last summer

I look back to then, this time last year,
I heave a sigh, and wipe a tear,
And though I need you, your tender touch,
Ache for your hugs, I miss them so much,
I square my shoulders, straighten my spine,
Think back to those days, in colours sublime.

Oranges, pinks, yellows, all hues,
Grow lighter and lighter, becomes shades of blue,
The sea, and the sky, the colour of your eyes,
Herald the new day, proclaiming sunrise.
The white tipped waves of oceans of blue,
These things, my darling, remind me of you.

Do you recall the very first car we owned,
Luminous pink, you moaned and you groaned,
I knew you loved me on that very day,
When you laughed, and let me have my own way,
The pinks that followed came in little girl dresses,
With Barbie, and prams and dolls with blond tresses.

Khaki green and camouflaged tones,
Toy guns, and helmets, and walkie-talk phones.
Then bicycles swapped for golf on the greens,
As tiny young tykes turned into teens.
Played on play stations, killing monsters and baddies,
Now they too are grown, their time to be daddies.

Whites – crisp, and clean, or satin were best,
For the sheets on our bed, the newly weds nest,
Then came the babies, and Sunday school lessons,
A haven and shelter for teenage confessions.
And white for our daughter, a beautiful bride,
And you so tall; handsome, proud at her side.

Colours around us filled the years of our life,
Blazed gloriously on highs, and yes – dimmed in our strife,
The’ve coloured our being, reflected the changes,
They’ve been there as our moods as fate rearranges,
And all of the colours that we ever knew,
All joined and kaleidoscoped, last year for you.

Our last summer could have been dismal and down,
With paintbrush strokes of greys and of brown,
They could have been muted in mint greens and tans,
Of hospital beds, chemo treatment, bed pans.
You chose to forgo that, to live life as you said,
In rainbows of oranges, pinks, blues and reds.

Our last summer was lived as only you could,
As friends and family closed around you, all stood,
Grandchildren screaming, laughter filling the air,
Memories coloured the days, sunshine on your hair,
“Remember when?” “Do you recall?”
Snatches of banter, kids kicking the ball,
Bonding and sharing, the order of the day,
Until you closed your eyes, smiled and slipped away.