Memory
Faded sepia, barely visibleThe shadow of a soldier who died at the SommeHis young widow died at ninety eightGrieved for him all of her life Cared for, and brought up her only daughterThe seed that he planted on their brief honeymoonThat last night of hunger and longingThe next day departing, sent off to the front She never took anotherCarried him in her heartFor the rest of her lifeAnd later cared for by a dutiful daughter That daughter, now oldLooks at the faded imageHow handsome he must have beenHow devastatingly heart broken, her mother Caring for her till she diedHad a young beau, herself, when youngBut it didn’t lastSome silent bond between mother and daughter They carry his memory to their gravesOne remembering the embraceOf a handsome young subalternThe other a gradually fading photograph