Holly-Blue

Cradled in the palm
of my hand – you,
slightly out of focus
by the side of a river,
somewhere in Vietnam,
I think you said...

you were smiling.
That ‘hippy hat’ of yours –
the blue one
with flowers on,
dipped over your eyes.

It was raining –
your kind of weather...
how you’d always
go for a turn
around the garden
when it did.

So many photos
of you I took...
over the years – yet
this – my favourite
the only one not
gone astray.

You’re half turning;
camera-shy
as ever as always,
and this is how
I'll remember you;

a blur...
and the line
of your lips – the tilt
of your chin.
Blue – blinking,
a little afraid.