I meet her every Sunday morning
we have two cups of tea
I haven’t been sure why I go
but she seems to like to see me

I guess it’s because she’s lonely
and I’m the only one left around
with any sort of connection to her
for her it’s a pretty empty town

she always puts a face on
and she has two types of tea
would I prefer black or green?
a nice gesture
but it’s all the same to me

maybe a couple of biscuits?
shortbreads or  Chocolate Royals
artfully presented on a floral plate 
immediately after the kettle has boiled

we start with a chat about the weather 
during the previous week
we could talk about it forever
but actually that’s not why we meet

she was ninety last December
you wouldn’t know it though 
all her friends and rellies dead and gone
I guess that makes my visits a special sort of show

me, her brother’s son’s son
I didn’t even know we were related 
until she called me on the phone
she said she had something to give me 
since her nephew was now also gone

I was hesitant, but I went around
choosing right from wrong
and we seemed to settle into a pattern 
after great great grandad’s medals she passed on

it’s interesting I guess hearing about her life
and she asks about mine too
I think she wants to check 
I’m not in any strife

she was in a war too you know
New Guinea
at the bottom of the Kokoda Trail 
a young nurse waiting for injured soldiers 
she has lots of horror stories to tell
and many that make me smile

one day she let on one of those soldiers was her dear oldest brother 
he didn’t make it to the hospital tent
she told me he was dead by the time they got him down
she says the world lost a rascal and a gent
he’d been stabbed in the stomach and hit by a round
the Japanese bayonet wound went septic 
they gave her a morning off to grieve and to see his body sent

she became a union activist after the war was over
the women had been doing the “men’s” work
but when the men returned working women were just seen as a bother
she saw her job as helping women stand up for what was right
she really was a pioneer, one with great foresight
however, she was largely a teacup without a storm
still she spoke out and fronted for the fight
even though inequality again became the norm  

she says the women had proved their worth
yet society again reverted to the patriarchal curse
nonetheless she says she has never been bitter
just encouraged to try harder for more jobs and equal pay
sad she says though 
that equal pay for women is still not a reality today

she has outlived her husband and three children now
sometimes she talks about them sadly
then she always perks up when she asks 
if she can recount their quirks and talents
so I learn ever more about them quite gladly

my parents are divorced and always hostile and angry
consequently I don’t want to see them much
however I do sometimes wonder if they ever talk about me 
with such a loving parental touch?

I tell her about my partner and my favourite things in life
she listens intently to my prattling and often offers up good advice

come to think of it I kind of like it
this tea for two with my great aunt
in fact I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning 
if I’m honest I really can’t. 

All work is my own unless otherwise stated. I do not use AI.