This man I knew was sometimes
Overbearing in his views,
And sadly quite overweight.
He was a mystery to the very end.
An extraodinary senior Civil Servant
Who took on every career task
With boundless confidence and flair.
A father once to two young men
Permanently scarred by the loss of one,
Ceaselessly proud of the other.
Difficult to live with for sure -
Even that way with his wife
Who long suffered much the same
As the carer to his dying mother.
A ranconteur to the living end
Regurgitating his lively chapters
In sunny Sunday Tea-time chatters
Beneath some bright Dordogne skies.
Did I say difficult to live with?
But I should add: Nevertheless a friend,
Who disclosed so many of his secrets
Such as having no fear of death -
More to fear from being in the grip
Of doctors, or  worse,  God forbid,
Hospitals and dreaded nursing homes.
His fate was the latter, where
He finally received a ticket
To relenquish being Gerry Thickett.
Rest easy my friend.

© griffonner 2022,2023