Now You've Gone and Done It

For Rae

When he wished me Happy Birthday,

I emailed back: '75. So I'm having

a week at least of celebrations. How 

are you going?'  'Running to catch up 

to you,' he said. 'Panting.' (He was

two years younger than me.) But now, 

18 months later, he's gone and stopped.

How could you do that? Now you'll never

catch up! Or is it I, now, who'll always be 

trailing, unable to catch up with him?

Poet Rae Desmond Jones (1941-2017) and I knew each other slightly for many years, and were aware of each other's work, but only really became friends late in life, via the internet. In those recent years I came to treasure his humour, intellect and very sweet nature. I'll miss him!

Linking this to the latest Tuesday Platform at 'imaginary garden with real toads', where change is a theme.

Pubiished in HAVE YOUR CHILL, July 2018