Forever Summer

(Remembering Jen. First Anniversary. The skies lit up that night, 5th November, in a blaze of fireworks. She did it her way)

her infectious smile greets me daily

beaming on my mahogany mantle

where she is free from death's dust

amid a flurry of forget me nots

that match her pale blue eyes

whose sparkle is forever summer

the melancholy of autumn days

followed by winter's wicked freeze

will not diminish her radiance

she of that lucent capacity

could lighten a darkened room,

gloom dissipated in her presence

it lifted like mist concealing a lake

taken away by a bold burnished sun

Jen my dearest childhood friend

remembering you always,

life goes on, though the song of you

remains strong and unforgettable

Reviews

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Chris... a year has passed... and still your poem
resonates in our heart. My Mom passed in December
about forty-two years ago. Her radiant smile still warms me
when I see her photo on our Mantel above a crackling fire.
Your poem dedicated to your friend is a legacy of gentle grace.
tenderly, Pat

[Chris Shaw]

Dear Pat, thank you for bringing Jen back to me this morning. So pleased this poem also reminds you of your own mother's radiant smile. That really pleases me. Sending love across the waves.

Chris

[Soren]

A beautiful tribute and memory cast in melancholy which is in contrast to the smile and title "forever summer". The flow of the poem set the emotional tone and left me at the end with a memory that seems indelibly printed.

[Chris Shaw]

Thanking you Soren for your review. Indelibly printed on my heart is Jen. A wonderful friend . Happy Sunday.

Chris

[Vol]

CHRIS,
I was almost sixty when I experienced my first significant death, but four in the last five years... it is the elderlies' rite of passage, I guess. The thing I have learned is that there are no words and there are no deeds that help in any way. The survivor's road is the loneliest of them all, until the last one.
Someone said everyone dies twice, the first is the physical one, the second when your name is spoken the last time. Amazing what your memory and this poem are doing.
Vol

[Chris Shaw]

Vol, I am sorry for your losses. It is true that as we age they mount up more. Grief is a pathway we all have to walk and each one of us will deal with it in our own way. It is painful for sure. Many thanks for your visit.

Chris

[W. Barrett Munn]

This reminds me of poems by Elizabeth Bishop. She wrote a poem about her father by writing about his empty room.
This of yours has the same feel.

Winston

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Winston. I always appreciate your thoughts.

Chris

[red93]

Really Beautiful Chris and this Piece has a filmic quality - Lovin' that Title, really Excellent ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Tony. Pleased you stopped by. Your support always appreciated.

Chris

[Lisasview]

Hi Chris,
Yes, it is me, back to reviewing and hopefully writing... I have had my share of mishaps and have not been up to doing any of this... You are the first poem I am reviewing...and what a very lovely poem it is..
To remember someone in a poem is so very wonderful...
Hugs to you,
Lisa

[Chris Shaw]

Lovely to hear from you Lisa. Sorry about the mishaps. Hope all is well now. Have a lovely day.
read moreLovely to hear from you Lisa. Sorry about the mishaps. Hope all is well now. Have a lovely day.

Chris

[willweb]

What a beautiful tribute poem for a friend that really touches the heart of the reader. I know, I am the reader.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Will. A much treasured friend greatly missed. Pleased you stopped by.

Chris

[Neville]

.. the passing of a true friend such as your dear Jen is surely a life changing event and one that I truly recognise myself having experienced a similar loss .. your words here resonate deeply within me Chris ..

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Neville. I miss her a great deal. Sadly I have lost three of my closest friends to cancer, years before their time. You understand that loss. Ovarian and breast cancer. A curse.

Chris

[M. J. Smith]

I am the last of my peer group. I still walk the streets of my hometown. But today I am alone. How well you evoke memory's ghost. Finely written, poet, finely written.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you so much. I appreciate you stopping by and leaving your thoughts.

Chris

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

What a beautiful tribute poem to your dear friend
This was truly beautiful I’m sure she heard it

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you so much Julie for your lovely review.

Chris

[Julie McCarthy (juliespenhere)]

It’s ok
I haven’t been in much I’ve lost my pojo for a while haven’t written in weeks !!
Loved yours 😘