You stood tall
and blocked many
of life's footballs
for eighty odd years
You lived in many places
from Cairo to Barrow
until you came to live with lucky us
here in Windermere
I never saw you as a soldier
a lover of women and fun
It’s hard to see you shooting a gun
at anyone
I saw you as a gardener
toiling gently in the soil
You knew your birds and bees
and your flowers and your trees
You avoided the elevator
like the plague
I’m glad you left before
there were compromises
you would have to make
You still had most of your hair
and you preferred to take the stairs