You both had such quiet determination,
resilience, a belief in not giving up
even when old-age and ill-health shackled you,
you pushed on, smiled, resisted complaint.
Today I am scouring myself, from skin to bone,
through marrow and blood for a similar reserve,
in the absence of sending you a card, speaking
to you, lifting a glass with you in celebration
of another year. It would have been 69 today,
72 since you first met in a Llanelly ballroom.
No-one, nothing, prepares us for this loss,
the disappearance of the people who
brought us into the world, who made us.
Gratitude slowly eases the grief. I carry you
like I might carry the most precious, the most
priceless of gifts: knowing I was loved.
David Anthony Rees, 5th August 1927 ~ 22nd December 2020
Joyce Rees nee James, 1st December 1932 ~ 25th March 2021
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