A Life More Ordinary

If you find the dogs are crying in the morning

If the piano plays a song while you’re asleep

If the days we had repeat while you are dreaming

It’s the echo of a heart you couldn’t keep

If the cat should settle where I used to whisper

If the snow should fail to lie where I once walked

If my favourite book lies open on the table

It’s the echo of the times when we once talked

If the music that I loved continues playing

If my old shadow walks the cobbles of this town

If the roses wilt and wither in the winter

It’s the echo of our days upon your frown

If you find the tears are falling far too freely

If you track my laughter ‘cross our years and years

If perfume and tobacco tease your senses

It’s the echo of our fantasies and fears

If the wind should feel much colder on my birthday

If the sun should fail to shine when days were ours

If the fire should fail to warm and heal your broken heart

It’s the echo of our time beneath these stars.

This was written in October 2025 and was originally a poem that I wrote back in the late nineties after my aunt, Margaret, had passed away. I reviewed the original and was unhappy with the general tone, so I chose to rework a large chunk of it and I’m much happier with it now. The later version was also heavily influenced by the loss of my mother-in-law, Carol, in November 2024.

Copyright Alec Hepburn, 2025.