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"Love conquers all (and spellchecks can sometimes be a waste of time!) Written for inclusion in a friend’s book in 2006. Much of the book’s story was set in Holland." - Allen Ansell



She sits beside me as I type, 
but no-one can see her – we are alone.
She smiles when I type her name, 
and broadcasts a loving smile.
There is a serenity to this woman – 
a peace that is rare to find,
an openness too – a big heart; 
bigger than her halo of golden hair.

She does not always join me – 
leaving me here to the magic of my Dyn,
sometimes to the pain of a stubborn empty page, 
or my tears of empathy.
She once asked me, “What is the point?” 
and although I said we never know, never,
the absurdity was me telling her such things!

Some days we listen to the music. 
I can see her absorb melody like wine…
no, like nectar… enriching, delighting; 
for her it is like manna from heaven.
And when some beautiful chord of sound brightens up my room, 
she says it,
six little words that I know she so desperately wants to hear.

Yesterday, as the sun was setting behind the surrounding trees, 
she cried.
Had I not turned and looked at her, 
I would not have known,
there were no audible sobs, 
just sad green eyes and wet alabaster cheeks…
and drips; salty drips that made the floor tiles wet.

I did not need to ask the reason, 
for there was anger in the air around us.
What she – they – had endured, beyond all reason, 
beyond all sanity, beyond,
was spilled across the screen; 
a vermilion slash of cruel words that questioned
her ending, and thus her beginning. 
And so, I defended her – for her…
…her beloved tochter**.


© Allen Ansell 2006, 2023


** The word 'tochter' is recognised as meaning daughter in German, however at the time of writing I was told to use 'tochter' in respect of this Dutch child by my author friend.
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