COMPLIMENTARY MEMBERSHIP

 

It was early morning

The sun was barely up

I knew because I saw it rise

I had lain in the darkness

Awake and aware for hours

Unable to sleep

Uneasy in my mind

Fearful of what maybe

Helpless in the face of events

Powerless to influence them

Just too far away

A continent away

Then I saw darkness slip into gloom

Then from gloom to glory

And in that glorious dawn light

I listened to world awaken

With all the sounds of first light

The chirruping birds

Of the dawn chorus

A milk float on its way

Clinking and rattling

Joe next door heading for work

Early turn this week

Then so I didn’t want to hear

The sound I was dreading

Beside me on the night stand

The telephone rang

A numbing fear gripped me

And for a moment I was frozen

Unable to move

Powerless to answer it

It’s never good news

Not at the crack of dawn

Good news always waits

Until a decent hour

When the telling of it can be savoured

And the listening appreciated

Good news was delivered with coffee

And consumed with tea

Good news did not come

With the breaking day and the dawn chorus

Only bad news came so early

Bad news never waited

There was no reason to wait

Bad news had no good time

It just had to be delivered

The phone rang again

And the fear released its grip on me

And I picked up the phone

The conversation was short

Its contents concise

It was the news I was expecting

Dreading, fearing

It was confirmed

I was now a member of the club

Sadly not an exclusive group

Quite indiscriminate in its selection

A club few wanted to join

But whose ranks are unshrinking

I had friends in the club

My wife was even a member

As was my boss

There was no shame in it

No social stigma

But I would have given anything

To have been excluded

To be denied admittance

To have my enrolment

Delayed for 10 or 20 years

Or even a few precious days

Just one short day, not even a whole day

Just a few hours over my travelling time

This is not an uncommon reaction

I am reliably informed

To resist membership

It’s not a club you want to join

After all no one chooses to join

The dead Dads club