A love in verse

Baxter Passes

2005-03-30
Performed by

The vet could not have been more sympathetic 

The kidney failure being quite advanced

The food ingested would become emetic

Quality of life could no way be enhanced


The runt of a litter eighteen years ago

(Born in our wardrobe!) struggling to survive

Allie helped him from the womb. He’d grow

Black, sleek and beautiful – and so alive


He won prizes: ‘Cat with the most beautiful eyes’

‘The handsomest pet’. Through three decades he went

It was his longevity we most prized

“He’ll live forever” I said; half joked, half meant

We watched the syringe ease into his vein

He died gently, bright eyes open, freed from pain. 

read more...

Grandson, 17 Months

When I think about Tom

I stop thinking

Where’s cash coming from...

Christmas With No Money

The winter afternoon’s dim 

Dimmer still the light through the pub window

Under which two wan people sit...