Nightly, still, I dress for you,
In frocks of fabric and of hue
You would have liked.
Silly, I know, when you are gone,
To care if shoes are black or fawn;
To match my lip rouge with a ring;
To pin gardenias at my breast;
To brush my hair till it is sleek
As carded silk … and in my eyes
To wear a look of glad surprise!
Nightly, still, I dress for you -
Because I know you'd want me to!
Litany For the Lonely
You're warmth and laughter …
You're the "good time"!
You're security …
And sleeping with arms 'round
And no night …
And the dark shut out!
You're pain
Drowned in joy,
And laughter from the heart …
You're loving kindness …
The look of dear acquaintance
And a hand to hold,
Always!
This Was My Brother
(For Lt.-Col. Howard McTavish, killed in action at Dieppe)
This was my brother
At Dieppe,
Quietly a hero
Who gave his life
Like a gift,
Withholding nothing.
His youth … his love …
His enjoyment of being alive …
His future, like a book
With half the pages still uncut -
This was my brother
At Dieppe -
The one who built me a doll house
When I was seven,
Complete to the last small picture frame,
Nothing forgotten.
He was awfully good at fixing things,
At stepping into the breach when he was needed.
That's what he did at Dieppe;
He was needed.
And even Death must have been a little shamed
At his eagerness!
"NostAglia"