- Lorna
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
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.
