This day, then

This day, then

Today sun, warm, plane tree leaves golden,
oaks still green, a daisy,
grasshoppers pinging away from passing feet,
a dragonfly circling blue and silver,
heron, crowd of crows on the ploughed field,
hawk lifts on brown wings, guns pop after doves
though the sky is soft and blue, dogs bark,
next spring’s orchids already formed, rosettes glossy green,
wild cyclamens beneath all the trees, delicate pink-white,
water racing in the ditches,
and the brash shiny bolts of acorns strewn,

and one wakes from a short sleep,
and we remember another who slipped away into the longest sleep,
this day, today, so very long ago.

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Author: Jane Dougherty

I used to do lots of things I didn't much enjoy. Now I am officially a writer. It's what I always wanted to be.

15 thoughts on “This day, then”

      1. Wow.Really? Where does the time go? It’s three since we lost Maggie. We got Maya in February 2022 and she was 13 weeks old. I think she weighed around 14 kgs then which was Maggie’s usual weight.

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      2. I remember you getting Maya. We were at the stage of being vetted for suitability as adoptants. They’re very careful about suitable dog parents. Since it’s taken months of patient psychological and medical care to prepare them to live in a house with people, they don’t want the dogs to end up under a car or a train as soon as they get ‘home’. There are always people who don’t follow the rules though.

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      3. It’s reassuring that they are so thorough. I’ve kept in touch with Maya’s breeder and sent her photos on a regular basis. I#d love to take her over but they’ve moved and are now further away, but it’s not an impossible journey, just a longer one.

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