In Memory of......

This photo by my friend and fellow photographer, Victoria Burns , inspired me to write a poem about the strange sight of a bouquet of roses on the frozen surface of a canal, somewhere in Scotland.

In Memory of......

A dozen yellow roses

neatly wrapped and cellophaned

greenery included

beautifully arranged

lying on the frozen surface

out of reach of probing hand 

carefully slid across the ice

by someone on dry land

They've been there quite a time now so that 

petals to the ice have stuck

and efforts at recovery

would need much more than luck

The clinging ice will not give up

despite the cold bright sun above

this symbol of remembrance

these glaze-wrapped flowers of love

The passer-by, her progress now

arrested by th'incongruous sight

of roses on an ice sheet

that were slid there in the night

She wonders what the reason could be

roses out of season would be

left here in this public place

to wither in the light.

Yellow rose for friendship

traditionally the florists say

so were they left in memory

when friendship went astray?

or is the feeling deeper still

did icy water friendship kill

and roses mark the horror

of a love tryst in decay?

The sweet juxtaposition 

of the bouquet over water

that as yet cannot engulf it

brings a feeling to her mind

of a moment held in timeless space

before the final resting place

where memories and souls commune

and life and death are kind.

©Rob King 2015


Many thanks to Victoria Burns for allowing me to use her photo.