The Living Dead

~ Honouring our poetic ancestors ~

Teaching the Kids to Cheat

By Dave King (dec. Oct 4 2013)

We took the kids to the beach for a week.

My brother, having lost his wife, came too.

We thought the kids might have a role to play,

and so they did, they played along just fine

and asked us for the biggest castle ever!

My brother found enormous chunks of flotsam

timbers of all sorts. We laid them on huge rocks

to hold the walls and towers high above

long rows of flimsy arches, gates and roads.

We'd been early to the beach that day and long

before the other children came, the timbers

were well covered by the sand. Kids gathered

to admire -- and to make pleas for castles

of their own like ours. We watched them all collapse --

until our two began to feel the guilt.

Finally, tears led them to the secret shown,

and queues of kids requesting photo-shoots --

posing in our castle grounds, and even on

the battlements. Then when the sea came in

all helped it lay siege to The Castle Cheat.

For many of us (depending on our country and culture) Christmas is coming up – a time for family holidays, and also for remembering loved ones no longer with us. Dave King lived in the UK, so the beach occasion described would not have been associated with Christmas for him, but here in Australia it is very much so. And the family fun he depicts can be translated to any place or season.

He was a lovely gentleman and lovely poet. He may not be 'living' in the sense of more famous dead poets, but for those he touched with his poems, and with his thoughtful comments on our own, he lives in fond memory. His work, too, remains alive at his blog, Pics and Poems.

For people new to our community, let me explain that he died a little over two years ago, of prostate cancer which spread to other areas of the body. His son Gavin posted to his blog on October 9th, 2013 to tell us Dave's death was peaceful.

He wrote some astonishing and beautiful poetry as he faced the prospect of dying. All his poems were worth reading. Do have a look at the blog – whether to refresh your memory or discover him for the first time.

For several of his best poems, plus details about the man, I refer you to our Mary's tribute to him in 'I Wish I'd Written This' on October 10th, 2013.

Of course it is sad to think of a friend and fellow-poet who has left us – but my intention in sharing this particular poem is to give you, via Dave King, an experience of joy.

(There is more joy coming, in Sherry's post of 21 December and Susan's of 6 January.)

Poems and photos posted to 'The Living Dead' for purposes of study and review remain the property of the copyright holders.