My father passed away two years ago, this is a poem I wrote for my Mum. They were married 50 years, their love will always be.

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Her light blonde hair lightly brushes her shoulders as she walks up the hallway, freshly brushed and a fresh coat of lipstick is all she needs to do

Naturally beautiful she does not need the make up others wear, she is not aware of how people take notice 

Her husband is, she smiles to herself, she knows he does not tolerate others looking at her, he has somewhat mellowed over the years

The fighting nature he had at university has turned into a fighting nature in the boardroom 

As she walks up the hallway she can smell the familiar scent of pipe tobacco in the air

This is a comforting smell, all though this is comforting it also makes her sneeze

She walks into the dining room, lightly smoothing her hair, she looks to the right, across the bar to a man with short wavy black hair

As he looks up at her, she can feel her eyes start to twinkle and then fill with love

As she looks into his eyes, she watches as his do the same, and then that final look of disbelief she married him

She knows he adores her, loves her unconditionally, as she does him, yes he can be hard to deal with at times, he can be happy irrational and quick to anger at other times 

But he does calm down quickly, he knows he can be irrational, his mind is always going so quick she thinks, no wonder he gets wound up

She can see he is starting to relax, finally starting to let go of the day he had, full of meetings and negotiations, fighting in the boardroom 

She hates to disturb him, but he is rarely home at this hour, not in time to put the kids the bed

The kids love to see him before sleep, love to run and cuddle up to the big teddy bear of a man they call Dad

Their daughter has been known to fly into his arms with excitement when he gets home, she is an emotional one she thinks to herself, very emotional like him.

She softly says that it’s time for the kids to go to bed, gently asking him to come and say goodnight, he gives her a slight smile and nods

She knows he will come, he rarely says no to her, and the children, well he would not deny them this precious time

As she walks away, she takes in the sound of ice swirling in a glass, knowing there will be scotch in the glass

She knew the children were his pride and joy, he loved their children, they were both so proud of their intelligent, chatty children, opposites of each other, yet similar in so many ways

She knows that in a few years, these children will be far too grown up, she wants to enjoy the time they have together now

Years later, she looks at an empty scotch glass sitting on the shelf, she hears the ice tinkling around, the smell of scotch and tobacco 

The memories of a life well lived come flooding back, she thinks of him, she can see him standing up against the wall of the balcony 

Their grown children, one on either side of him, their daughter wrapping her arm around him to keep him warm

His son on the other side, shifting closer without being aware, to share a little more body heat with this man they both admire

She thinks to herself, he was right about the children, the daughter has a mind that is very different, and emotions that can run out of control, she is her father’s daughter 

Their son is more like her, more practical and calm, he thinks things through, he is also intelligent like his father 

She can feel his warmth surround her, can feel the love he has for her, she knows she gave him the greatest gift she could 

Others thought it was too much, but not to her, not for him, to keep him at home, comfortable and surrounded by love until his last week 

This is what he wanted, after 45 years of marriage, she wanted to be by his side, she can grieve the loss after

She is comforted by the knowledge he is at peace, and out of pain, takes comfort in the knowledge he is with the god they believe in.

She knows he lived such a rich and happy life, she knows that he was at peace in the end, at peace with moving on.

By Ellysa Greenhalgh

From: Australia

Website: https://ellpoet.wordpress.com