Love Never Dies (part II)

In February this year, I wrote a blog post about a wonderful lady called Nadja and her family. Her story is incredibly tragic, but she is the most positive inspiring lady. You can read the story of how I came to create an illustration for her earlier this year in this blog post. One sunny day in lockdown I got a call from Nadja saying that she'd had an idea she'd like to run by me. She said there weren't many books for children which dealt with grief and she'd love it if I wrote one. I was inspired to write this within a week of speaking to her. I had been hoping to find a publisher this year and surprise her with a book and release it into the world for anyone who needs it, but I'm quickly learning that the publishing world turns quite slowly. It didn't feel right to be holding on to this, especially with the year that we're in right now. So I am sharing this, for Nadja, Jeroen and Fleur, and for anyone else who might need this in their life right now.

With love, Lorna x

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LOVE NEVER DIES

We would play in the park

Your hand in mine

No care in the world

No concept of time

But time suddenly stopped

When your hand was gone

My world just stood still

While others’ went on

For days, weeks and years

I searched for your hand

For the tiniest joys

Or the things we had planned

The same things looked different

A feather weighed more

Where once there was joy

Now felt like a chore

I didn’t understand it

You hadn’t say bye

You were gone just like that

And I didn’t know why

I looked in my cupboard

We loved hide and seek

But the cupboard was empty

No murmur or squeak

I looked in the garden

We loved climbing trees

But there was only a squirrel

Who was rustling leaves

I looked down the sofa

Where everything hides

I searched every crowd

I searched far and wide

But you weren’t to be found

Til I looked in my heart

And from that day and onwards

We were never apart.

You were with me at teatime

At bedtime, at break

You were with me in triumphs

You eased my mistakes

I made a wee den

And I set it for tea

There was a cup there for you

And a seat next to me

I lay on the grass

And I looked at the sky

You were shaped like a rabbit

As the clouds drifted by

Past tense doesn’t suit you

Nor does hiding your name

So I sing it with joy

Never mumble in shame

I tell you at night

of the things I’ve got planned

Then you wink and a star

Flutters down to my hand

The weight which I felt

When I knew you were gone

Was the love in my heart

Which I couldn’t pass on

The more that I shared it

The stronger I felt

And the more I could cope

With the card I’d been dealt

So I’ve shared it with flowers

With animals and friends

Because love never dies

And love never ends.