deepundergroundpoetry.com
Eddie (2/3/17)
he had the operation 6 months ago
replaced a dodgy hip joint
with a better one
you should have seen the change
went from an old bent cripple on a cane
to 10 years younger
and 6 inches taller
in two weeks
was like the world’s worries lifted off him
saw him a few times after that
used to meet him at the island’s airport
him meeting guests for his homestay
me coming going
always good to see him
sun-ruined wide smiling face
shoulders broad boned
an old man’s working hands
we’d lean on the fence
talk about the wharf my men are building
biggest job out here ever
and him an old 1st mate
a sea-dog retired back to his home island
after all his days at sea
swallowed the anchor
and came home
to fireside nights with the missus
so plenty to talk about him and me
the island
the job
the sea
I got the message this morning
“Eddie’s gone
thought you’d want to know”
can’t say I knew him that well
except a month of winter nights
staying at his place a year ago
fireside yarns
I know he was a handful in his drinking days
and he kept his dog chained up too much
but he was a decent bloke
a man bred hard
for a hard place
worked his way
paid his way
raised his kids
loved his wife
cut firewood every year for the old people
the island will stop for a week
nothing open
no work done
I booked a flight
will fly in
to help put him in the ground
will hear the women wail at his Tangi
and mark the passing
of an ordinary man
(for anyone who cares to read it, I wrote another piece about my time with Eddie last year
https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poems/222684-missed/)
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