Remembering Names

Remembering Names

I knew my friends, when I was young,
Their names came easy to my tongue.
“Hi, Edward, Colin, Anne and Sue
David and Daphne — How are you?”

At College wasn’t quite the same
Many a sultry foreign name
Sikorski, Magda, Heinz and Dieter,
Harder to grasp than Tom or Peter.

Came middle age and tiring brain,
Used subterfuge to take the strain
Oh hello darling, nice to see ya
Sorry, got to rush, my dear

John – no, Henry, Geoff — no, Ted
Ruth – it cant be, Ruth is dead
Now in old age my years are long;
I use the names but get them wrong

I scan the names now in my head,
I grieve the unforgotten dead.
Felix, Linet, and Antony,
Shuman, James and Emily,

Beneath the blows of fate I bow
We’re very short on Grandpas now.
No matter how the chapter ends
I thank the Lord I still have friends.

© 2023 Laurel Cooper