It's getting near the anniversary of a former lover's death.


Lady Margaret of Manchester

I met our mutual friend today,
Said you were dead and far away,
Bodily, yes, but I remember you,
You with eyes of teenage blue,
You with those cupid-bow lips,
Round and red as wild rose hips,
I remember you, how can I forget,
Your passion for that French cigarette,
It came in a blue packet, began with a 'G',
You lit two, one for you, one for me,
I loved your smoke-contoured voice,
How you could recite Auden and Joyce
After a drop of John Barleycorn,
How we laughed from dusk till dawn,
I would pretend to be a chevalier
And you a dark lady living in fear,
You would dub me Sir Christophe,
I'd prostesteth at being a French toff,
I'd ennoble you sweet Lady Margaret,
And we'd lie together sharing a cigarette.

Alas, the fiery dragon consumed you in the end,
But not even dragons can devour a true friend.


Chris Fernie, 2009





Poetry by Chris Fernie
Read 745 times
Written on 2009-07-14 at 10:38

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normalil
A lovely tribute. Full of feeling and graphic memories. It's nice to see someone brave enough to include the dreaded cigarette in a poem, (I have been rather slated for it on other sites.) I hope your friend is resting in peace, it's a lovely poem.
Although a daughter of Manchester, I no longer live there, but it will always have a place in my heart.
2009-07-14


Kathy Lockhart
this is so beautifully expressed with such loving detail. There is melancholy and a sweetness throughout. My heart was deeply touched. kathy
2009-07-14


Elle The PoetBay support member heart!
I enjoyed Chris, this held a feeling of old fashioned decadence and I could picture the Gitanes being lit :-)

Elle x
2009-07-14