VERONICA FINLAY
Veronica Finlay sits on the low stone wall that surrounds the local village church
Feeling the warmth of the afternoon sun high in the blue sky on her skin
Enjoying the cool summer breeze coming from somewhere, gently blowing through her hair
And for a moment or two, time itself seems to stand still and open a door to yesterdays
Veronica Finlay thinks back to a happy day that is so long ago now, so long ago
When she stood outside the blue painted wooden doors of this church wearing her wedding dress
And the handsome young man at her side, looked into the eyes of his new bride
Put her favourite flower into her hair, whispered to her words that still make her blush
Veronica Finlay sighs with sadness, as if the summer sun had gone behind a black cloud
What happened to all those family and friends that they both walked and talked to that day
As they smiled, wished them both well, and threw paper confetti and rice into the air
For a moment Veronica imagines that she can hear them, if she looks round they will all still be there
Veronica Finlay wonders to herself what use are old memories when there’s no one left to remember them with
Where does time go to, does it go anywhere, or does it just become memories, like some dream
A movie projected on a cinema screen that feels at times like it all happened to someone else, not to you
When you are the last guardian of all of these memories, what do you do, what can you do
Veronica Finlay thinks of happier times, that handsome young man who promised to grow old with her
He kept his promise to her, like all his others, but one day (Pause) one day he had to go away
He’s in a far better place now, that’s what some people started to say, odd what people say
Because Veronica knows he so much wanted to stay, and she never wanted him to ever go away.
Veronica Finlay tries to hold back the tears as she thinks of all those long happy years together
That handsome young man who always told her you will never grow old, never in my eyes my love
And she knew that when he looked at her that he was always seeing that young woman who became his bride
But now, the only person that people see is the old woman outside not the young one inside
The summer’s breeze blows colder now and Veronica knows that once again time has played a trick on her
Passed her by more quickly than she realised, and she still has to do what she came here to do
Standing up from the wall, Veronica slowly walks to the old cast iron church gate and opens it wide
Now it was her turn to give that handsome young man in her memories his favourite flowers too.
Feeling the warmth of the afternoon sun high in the blue sky on her skin
Enjoying the cool summer breeze coming from somewhere, gently blowing through her hair
And for a moment or two, time itself seems to stand still and open a door to yesterdays
Veronica Finlay thinks back to a happy day that is so long ago now, so long ago
When she stood outside the blue painted wooden doors of this church wearing her wedding dress
And the handsome young man at her side, looked into the eyes of his new bride
Put her favourite flower into her hair, whispered to her words that still make her blush
Veronica Finlay sighs with sadness, as if the summer sun had gone behind a black cloud
What happened to all those family and friends that they both walked and talked to that day
As they smiled, wished them both well, and threw paper confetti and rice into the air
For a moment Veronica imagines that she can hear them, if she looks round they will all still be there
Veronica Finlay wonders to herself what use are old memories when there’s no one left to remember them with
Where does time go to, does it go anywhere, or does it just become memories, like some dream
A movie projected on a cinema screen that feels at times like it all happened to someone else, not to you
When you are the last guardian of all of these memories, what do you do, what can you do
Veronica Finlay thinks of happier times, that handsome young man who promised to grow old with her
He kept his promise to her, like all his others, but one day (Pause) one day he had to go away
He’s in a far better place now, that’s what some people started to say, odd what people say
Because Veronica knows he so much wanted to stay, and she never wanted him to ever go away.
Veronica Finlay tries to hold back the tears as she thinks of all those long happy years together
That handsome young man who always told her you will never grow old, never in my eyes my love
And she knew that when he looked at her that he was always seeing that young woman who became his bride
But now, the only person that people see is the old woman outside not the young one inside
The summer’s breeze blows colder now and Veronica knows that once again time has played a trick on her
Passed her by more quickly than she realised, and she still has to do what she came here to do
Standing up from the wall, Veronica slowly walks to the old cast iron church gate and opens it wide
Now it was her turn to give that handsome young man in her memories his favourite flowers too.
"Veronica Finlay" Copyright © Tom King 2022