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/)