Standard Roses
on Sheila Ash (India), 24/May/2018 11:36, 34 days ago
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There were three each yearstanding proudlike buttons on the military waistcoat of our front lawn.Roses - dad’s pride and joy -standard style, shaped like the lollipops on sticksthat came with sherbet from the village shop.Gobstopper delights ofApricot Abundanceand sun-centred, pink-edgedPeace.On Gala days,their stakes supported the Wallace bannerits rebellious display flapping in time to our stepsas we paraded pastin our best dresses to picnic in the park.Bordered by regimented rows of gladioli and dahliasthe garden’s familial sweetness permeated all thingsimbuing my soul with his everlasting love.I never knew the work they took,where they came from or where they went,but each summeras regular as trips to the beachthey blessed our gardenThen robbed of himtheir familiar presence haemorrhaged awaytill all that remained was a blank canvass of expressionless lawnand memories smelt in every rose.© Sheila Ash, 2018ashramblings
