anniversaries

1st October 1966

another pretty day
a few strung out, whispy clouds
painted pink by the rising sun
which lifts to meet a crescent moon
the rooks are up and gathering
noisy in the old oak tree across the way
her leaves still green
the autumn rusting yet to come
i think you would have enjoyed this summer
scotland has outdone herself
i miss you every day
in the beauty i know you would have wondered at
in the small jobs you would have taken pleasure in
i look at the garden and i imagine ...
retaining walls and brick paving
built by your beloved hands
oh, i have to some extent tamed the verdant green
with much sweat and cursing
remembering always the luxuries of home
where lawns were mowed and clipped
by the hardy effort of others!
i am grown used to being alone and yet
still i miss you
i miss you in the small things and the great
in the birth and growing of our grandchildren
in the maturing and accomplishments
of our beloved children
i miss your smile, your touch
i miss being us

i love you Manfred Oellermann, forever beloved husband.

elucidate

educate, elucidate, eradicate
the carnival of life unravels
rushing directionless towards death
veering off on tangled paths
overgrown with the despair of humanity
cruelty and kindness submerged
in a churning sea of indifference
we recall a series of self fabrications
and call this our life, our story
seeking in vain to find the one truth
which will unlock the gates to nirvana
until with maturity comes the understanding
that there is nothing new to be discovered
but the ache of aging joints
and the spaces where once there were words


Copyright © 2004-2013 by Eryll Oellermann

alone

i find again my friend
the dark
the warm welcome
of despair
sinking smooth as oil
into the abyss
i am alone
in that familiar place
all delight lost
and hope extinguished
only my own heavy step
breaks the silence


Copyright © 2004-2013 by Eryll Oellermann