For Betty Backhouse <br />Where ever you may be. <br /> <br />Way back in 1959 <br />my parents, my sister and I. <br />Sailed from New York harbour <br />passed the Statue of Liberty <br />on an ocean liner called the RML Ivernia. <br />It was on this liner I met a girl slightly older than me, <br />who completely captivated me. <br />She was travelling with her parents and her brother. <br />They were from Australia <br />and her name was Betty. <br />She reminded me so much of my Canadian rose, <br />and the resemblance was uncanny. <br />The trip to England took seven nights and seven days. <br />Within those days, <br />she swept my heart completely away. <br />My biggest regret now is <br />I forgot to ask them where they lived in Australia. <br />When we docked in Southampton <br />in the December of that year, <br />amidst the rush and excitement <br />of returning to the land of my birth <br />I looked around and they were gone. <br />I often wonder how Betty and her brother ever got on. <br />That was almost fifty years ago <br />and hopes of ever seeing them are gone, <br />but I will always remember that Australian rose <br />until my final breath is taken away. <br />Should they ever read this by chance one day. <br />I hope that life has been wonderful to them both, <br />Betty and her brother where ever they may be. <br /> <br />3 June 2008<br /><br />David Harris<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-australian-rose/
