Obituaries

One by one they fall, these people I have known,

or loved, or merely liked – some far removed

from worlds in which I lived; some with whom

I laughed have also gone. To where

I do not know. Oh, you departed: please

come back and laugh again so I might laugh

with you while railing at what’s yet to come.

Tomorrow? Or perhaps a distant day?

Who knows? Some knew; but some did not, and left

abruptly, shock or sadness trailing

in their wake – good friends or vague acquaintances

who, turning pages casually, alighted

on a bleak announcement that a call

had come: a summons bearing no refusal.

By Matthew Robinson

Matthew is a British-Cambodian TV and film producer, director and writer.