Dennis Leckey
Climbers
In his final months Dad spotted them,
orange dots on the distant rockface.
I had seen them so many times
They had become invisible to me.
He was more fascinated by the climbers
than the campsite behind us, the one
I had directed him to for the first
and last time.
We picnicked. Forty years he had picnicked
continentally with kettle and stove as old.
Part of the ritual.
Tea had to be fresh.
Blimey, tea bags were accepted only slowly.
He couldn’t walk as far as the campsite,
had to do with knowing it was there,
along with that volcanic balancing stone.
He limped to the toilet and saw our river,
passed the tiny church without noticing.
As he rested I collected small pebbles
from our riverbank.
Feeling eerily alone.
Nature had turned to play with newer friends.
In that spot of time I discovered
that She could do that to us.
Page(s) 51
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