Powercut/By Candlelight
in the darkness,
and recalled a time
before we had power.
Here in diffused light
I relived my mother's final hours.
Images flitted across the walls,
shadow puppets in Chinese theatre.
I saw again the waxen whiteness
of her gentle face,
fear and pain pouring from pleading eyes.
Hearing a cry to her own mother
told me she knew the truth.
Should I not have spoken openly
and given her the opportunity
to share her fears with me?
So many words remained unspoken.
In the deep sleep of eternity
she has rested many years.
Yet here in the flickering candlelight
she appeared afresh to me.
The whiteness of her face
is now reflected in mine.
I have enjoyed a happier and longer life,
but I am not yet ready to follow her. When the time comes,
let there be no secrets withheld
between you and me, my daughter,
no cause for regret.
As the power cut ended
the past took flight.
It was time to blow the candles out.
Header Image: Kilkenny Castle from where Princess May of Tec set out to visit Lady de Vesci in 1891 when she asked for the bookcase made by my grandfather.
