Vale Joan Small.

Vale Joan Small.

Someone needed you more than us Joan

Your reason and your rhyme

They didn’t ask if you were ready

Someone took your time

But they cannot steal the memories

Your face amid the gloom

We will always have the words you left,

Smiles that lit the room.

How beautiful the memory Joan

That takes us back in years

Those Christmas pictures that Marta took

Sat amongst your peers

Reading our poems at ‘Banjo’s’ place

A damper in the coals

Sparks rising into the starless night,

Friends and kindred souls.

I’ll never forget the “Book Launch” Joan

The atmosphere was mad

Opera singing and ‘Yowie Man’

What a time we had!

A lovely day surrounded by friends

It really was a blast

I wish we were all back there again,

Safely in the past.

I love ‘The Rock in the River’ Joan

The message that you sent

About life and all its vagaries

What it was you meant

I love ‘Memory’s Illusions’ too

And how you found your peace

I’m glad you had clear memory lass

That blessed gift -  release

You were the rock in the river Joan

That gave the stream its voice

And patterns in the water flowing

Reason to rejoice

Creating all the swirling eddies

A dance-floor for a leaf

A haven for a fragile tadpole,

Sheltered underneath.

Your life was filled with lots of challenge

With joy and laughter too

Family and friends from everywhere

We’ll remember you

And when in time we meet again lass

We’ll know how to find you

You will be the rock in the river

We will surround you.

Tom Jones