Miss Cooper

 

I’d like to introduce you to someone you never knew,

Someone we’ll miss, someone we miss,

The girl who became you.

 

As old as the Queen but with more than twice her class.

The queen of her own household

With us, for us, our last.

 

Sister to two, mother of three

Grandmother of five and greater two more.

Perfect? Like no-one, but good like no-one else,

She did her very best, and in her presence we found awe.

 

She endured more than she should

A fairytale wasn’t hers to tell;

But with strength she moved as life evolved

And she never ever fell.

 

With fingers green as grass, oh how her garden grew,

And to her flocked exotic crops, birds that saw her paradise.

A place for luncheon without the boating party

Recharging her anew.

 

Retired in comfort, a good life not denied.

A brandy in her left, something missing from her right.

Piano concertos and flute sonatas -

Wilbur Smith and Grisham piled at her side.

 

She sat with heartbreak beyond recognition

And led by example her head tilted high.

In time this Lady moved on as she could,

Took us all away as a loving mater would.

 

A tree of solid roots with branches reaching far

Her influence, her legacy, her stock continues to rise

Enquire over here, and an Oxford engineer

From the very start of Meantime, to far and foreign skies.

 

Miss Cooper I’d like to introduce you

To someone you never knew

Someone quite spectacular

The person into whom you grew.