Poetry Corner - An Easter reflection
One Easter
Went to confession the day before
and said our acts of contrition before the altar
looking forward to what always felt like
the second most important day of the yearly calendar.
After breakfast we walked to mass as a family
to celebrate Easter dressed in our Sunday best
came home for lunch and opened our Easter Eggs
there was far too much to eat in just one sitting.
Yorkie, Smarties, Mars and Roses to name but a few
some boxes had bars at the bottom
in others the chocolate eggs
were filled with chocolates in small plastic bags.
We went visiting after this to collect more eggs
straight over to my grandparents
we drove all the way across the city in light traffic
to spend the rest of the afternoon with our relatives.
Uncles and aunts had called to give us even more eggs
much more than we could manage or even arrange.
We sat in the sitting room under the yellow pelmet
against the background of the blue floral wallpaper
with the sunlight streaming through the net curtains
eating chocolate all that afternoon
not realising at the time how precious it all was
until many years later
as the sand
was moving in the hourglass
the whole time
unknown to all of us.