Just over a year since I lost my Brother.

 

I lost my Brother, and my poetry went with him

Words replaced by a bottomless hollow

Knowing he had no more tomorrows 

 

The words I needed drifted away

Like smoke adrift on the  bleakest day

Forever drowning in a sea of grey 

Amidst its melancholic sway

 

He enjoyed a drink, and liked a fag

But was the best big brother I could have had

'A good looking lad' back in his day 

And had 'the ol' blue eyes' to do it his way

 

His smile was like a summer breeze 

And he listened, & spoke with consummate ease

Such tales were heard through smoke & ale

'Til Time unfurled its premature veil

 

He could paint a house in ne time at all

He'd graft - until the pub would call! 

To the old tunes on the radio, he'd sing

Whilst doing his painting & decorating thing

 

On the weekend, all the lads would  meet

Outside the shop, they'd gather & greet

Idle chit chat as they walked down together 

Subtle gestures, we all think last forever 

 

He liked to bet on a donkey, or two

His losses, many, his winners, too few!

But, he took it with a pinch of salt

After all, it was the lad who tipped him at fault!

 

A fixture at The Crossings, & The Top

And, also into the Club he would pop

A familiar face, In unfamiliar times

As the present erodes more traditional lines

 

But, his family always was his world

Though, his emotions were very rarely unfurled 

He held them deep within his soul

In that wonderful part that made him whole

 

His wife & daughter: a special part:

      His own little work of art

I know, he was proud of what he had

He said, he hadn't done too bad!

 

Your  Mam & Dad , & Sister too

Will always be so proud of you

You made us feel 10ft tall

Which is no mean feat, as we're all quite small!

 

Now his soul wanders free as can be

And, still, he lives in memory 

But, I'm sure somewhere he's found a pub 

With a cracking pint & decent grub!

 

Familiar faces old & recent

Will ensure the crack is canny decent 

"Is the Queens still open?" Some may say

He'll say, "No. Like me, it drifted away…"

 

Last orders at the bar, comes to us all

Old friends and faces come to call

And, in memory we remain here still

With love our broken hearts we fill

 

Husband, Father, Brother, Son

Your work on Earth has now been done

But, in this place - this community 

You will always be

Our  wonderful P.E.A

 

***

Farts in the face,  and many a dead leg!

If there was a God, how I would beg

To go back to those days

When you were just my big brother 

And I looked up to you

 

Like I looked up to no other