Death – Ponderings from Paisley

Heavenly Love

A tribute to my Uncle Bill Roy

I know why you couldn’t wait

your love had wedged the gate

keeping it open for you to slide through

so once again she could be close to you.

You slipped off when you had the chance

To be reunited in the eternal dance,

Free at last from your earthly bounds,

you smile and laugh as you spin her round

You don’t hear the angels serenading

As they join you both in celebrating

heavenly love returning home.

My Love for Irene Roy

What love has connected

no distance can divide

I am always with you,

in the love you have inside.

Until we meet again my love

I’ll never be far away.

Tune into your heart

where I’ll always stay

Together in the laughter,

together in the tears

As we have always been

during our many happy years

Until we meet again my love

don’t think I’m far away

Tune into your heart

where I’ll always stay

Death on the Cycle Track.

I saw death on the cycle track today

motionless yet moving

seeming to sway in the breeze,

staring right at me

as a new pathway emerged

Nervous I pondered

is he coming for me?

I saw death on the cycle track today,

Adorned with a black trackie

that could be containing a knife!

Well he’s not gonna roam the town

with a scythe swinging round.

Staring I wondered

would death wear a tracksuit?

I saw death on the cycle track today.

You’re para, says the voice inside my head.

reassuringly to the quivers of dread.

It’s happened before, logic replied.

What’s that white light, my eye has spied?

A light on death’s trainers, as he walked away.

I saw death on the cycle track today.

Rashelle Reid, 2015.

If I were to die now,
did I live?
did I love?
did I laugh?
did I show the world around me who I really am?
did I do enough?
did I give a little or a lot?
did I care?
did I share?
If I were to die now?
would I be forgotten in a heartbeat?
or will my memory live on?
will my poems ever be songs?
If I were to die now,
would I go out smiling?
would I go guilty?
would I even know?
If I were to die now…
will Scots gain their freedom
will my country be a nation again?
will my descendants live in the peace I never knew but fight so hard for?
If I were to die now,
would my kids believe the lie they’re British?
would they remember me with smiles?
would they fly with the wings I’ve tried to so hard to give them?
If I were to live now,
would I keep going on my path?
would I share more smiles and laughs?
would I get to share more love?
If I were to live now,
can I help the dream become a reality?
can I help my nation rise again?
can I keep learning and growing and loving and glowing?
If I were to live now….