Six years ago today my beloved friend Vaunda died after a long battle with cancer. I love, remember and miss her. She gave me so much.
Since her death I’ve also learned how much she meant to others, not just our mutual friends but people I never knew who have contacted me through blog posts like this and shared memories. So many of us who lose loved ones feel alone, yet sharing our common loss, and realising how many lives our lost ones touched, is comforting.
It’s a learning curve too: reflecting on how she is remembered makes me wonder if I can be remembered so lovingly and positively. Something to work towards.
I wrote some poems, and although she inspired them they’re really for me, and everyone else left behind.
you have gone so far
into the bamboo forest
leaving me behind
I remember you
walking so far for so long
I couldn’t keep up
seasons change
but you will never
change again
your last photograph
pinning your last smile
have you walked
too far beyond me
or have I
left you behind as
the road unfurls me
what does dying mean
only that I still expect
beyond all reason
to recognize your writing
on an envelope one morning
Helen McCarthy: A Face Made for Radio 
:: 🙂 🙂 🙂 ::