The Tea Lady And The Pot Smoker. by Dennis Moriarty

In a spare room upstairs he grew weed
To smoke and make tea
For the elderly lady next door.
And when her knees swelled and her body
Stiffened
He infused her brew with the magic leaf
And waited with her
Until she drifted away with the sound of
The song he sang for her.
He listened to Dylan and Cash now and then
The reefers he smoked
Mellowing the vocals and softening the boots
On gravel delivery of lyrics.
And each Sunday at noon he went next door
Where she cooked him dinner,
Roast chicken and gravy with potatoes and peas
And after the crumble and custard
She drank her tea and he inhaled his smoke
And they faded away together.
Then one late November morning he stood
At the graveside
Listening to the priest but not hearing a word.
And when they offered her body
To the dark dank earth he anointed her coffin
With ash from a joint he openly smoked.
And when the last mourners had left him alone
He took out a flask
And toasted her final journey with one last cup
Of magic leaf tea.

Dennis Moriarty was born in London, England and now lives in Wales. Married with five grown up offspring Dennis likes walking the dog in the mountains, reading and writing.
In 2017 he won the Blackwater poetry competition and went to county Cork in Ireland to read his work at the international poetry festival. Dennis has had poems featured in many publications including Blue nib, Our poetry archive, Setu bilingual, The passage between and others.