In Memory

In memory of my mother who departed from us five years ago today.

Sailing Away

Five years since you set sail on endless oceans,
We watched as you serenely left the quay;
Slipping the hawser that bound you to our shoreline,
You heaved onto the spirit’s boundless sea.

Our close horizons could not keep you anchored,
This harbour was too small for you to bide;
Your vessel strained to catch the fairest breezes
To launch you safe upon celestial tides.

We watched as you pushed slowly through the harbour
And took the swelling of the heaving sea;
And when your vessel dipped below the sight-line,
We felt forever and eternity.

Where are you now, we ask as we are mindful
Of all the days you walked upon our shore?
What great mysteries have you discovered
To keep you from our heartland and our door?

Whatever Cosmic Islands tempt your vessel
Still further from this bleak temporal shore;
Deep within our hearts the tide of memory
Brings welcome sightings of your ship once more.

Sometimes we too are found around the harbour,
Preparing crafts as life bids us to do;
In time we’ll slip our moorings and head seaward,
Expectant of the moment you’ll heave-to!

So as upon that endless tide you move
We trim our sails and think of you with love.

© David McLoughlin-Tasker – York – March 2011

Poem and the Reader

There is a rejection by many of 'rhyming form' today. Like all things, poetic form changes regularly as witnessed by the many forms of poetry through the centuries. However, several generations live side by side and were influenced by different poetic forms and styles. My step-father is one such person...brought up to a strong rhyming form in poetry, it was important that when I wrote a poem to remember my mother's passing, that I used a form that he could easily understand.

Here is the poem I wrote...old fashioned style some would say...yes...but written for a mind that was reared to it:

Sailing Away


Five years since you set sail on endless oceans,
We watched as you serenely left the quay;
Slipping the hawser that bound you to our shoreline,
You heaved onto the spirit’s boundless sea.

Our close horizons could not keep you anchored,
This harbour was too small for you to bide;
Your vessel strained to catch the fairest breezes
To launch you safe upon celestial tides.

We watched as you pushed slowly through the harbour
And took the swelling of the heaving sea;
And when your vessel dipped below the sight-line,
We felt forever and eternity.

Where are you now, we ask as we are mindful
Of all the days you walked upon our shore?
What great mysteries have you discovered
To keep you from our heartland and our door?

Whatever Cosmic Islands tempt your vessel
Still further from this bleak temporal shore;
Deep within our hearts the tide of memory
Brings welcome sightings of your ship once more.

Sometimes we too are found around the harbour,
Preparing crafts as life bids us to do;
In time we’ll slip our moorings and head seaward,
Expectant of the moment you’ll heave-to!

So as upon that endless tide you move
We trim our sails and think of you with love.


© David McLoughlin-Tasker - York - March 2011