Doing the Usual

At the quiet end

of an autumn afternoon

the rain comes down

softly and steadily.

I open a Shiraz,

make some conversation with the cats,

fetch my cardigan

and check the TV program.

It's almost as if you're still here.

I half-expect, any minute,

that you'll call from the bedroom

or walk from your office

to share the wine, the TV, the cats....

This morning at my market stall

I put my clients in touch 

with their dear dead.

Invariably I'm moved to tears

by the depth of love

the dead have for the living,

and my clients cry too.

I was you today, at the market,

doing the rounds of the other stalls early.

But I didn't get your abundant

bundles of fresh veggies —

not for only one.

It's BBQ chicken tonight,

to save cooking.

The cats will demand their share.

I'll give them less than they ask

(not as soft as you were)….

A nice night to be in,

as rain and evening arrive together.

Like a blanket, darkness
wraps us round.

April Poem A Day Challenge 2014, day 26: water