Marieke, At Primrose Hill Poem by Vihanga Perera

The way I remember you
Is the way I remember you on Primrose Hill
On a walk I wished would linger; not end:
Gazing far away into the city, cushioned between mountains,
As we stopped and stood at the fall, on a bend.

The evening light on a calm Primrose eve
And a few days from that day you were
All ready to leave; in a world
Where there were shops on shops on every street,
That peddled no week or half a month to lend.

To leave you required much stamina and strength.
I remember the last moments being made less awkward
By a barking dog, on an evening almost late,
As it ran up and down behind you, as you
Watched me leave from behind the gate.

You fought me refusing the cab I wanted you to take,
But then, gave in to my insistence -
For some reason letting me, for once, dictate.
And then, you were gone. Perhaps, for ever.
And to know that, for ever - perhaps - I must have to wait.