Thursday, May 26, 2011

Aunt Edie's Wedding



How I'd love to read the thoughts of the people in this group.
Antie Edie, she's the one in white, is about to fly the coop.
She was my Father's sister, but it seems he wasn't there!
Was he unavoidably detained or didn't he even care?
The groom was in the navy, so uniforms abound.
What were the sailors thinking as they dutifully stood around?
Reg, the husband was older than Edie, by at least a dozen years;
Is she feeling nervous? Her face displays some fears.
My grandfather is on the right, sporting a button-hole;
But my grandmother is absent; didn't she play a role?
Olive, the bride's sister, is standing by her father;
It seems she wasn't a bridesmaid! Did that annoy her, rather?
Carrie, the other sister, is to the right of the bride;
She looks much more cheerful, standing by her side.
How well did the nervous little bride really know the groom?
Had they ever been alone together in a private room?
The lady back row, third from the right, looks a bit like me,
But I don't know if we're related; do we share a family tree?
I'll never know the answers, the emotions are a mystery.
But I'm intrigued by the private thoughts in this little slice of history.
*

-----------------------------------------------------------


THOUGHT FULL!
(More secret thoughts!)


I can see them..... little thoughts,
Starting-points, but no retorts!
Sharp internal conversations;
Private ones! No reservations.
Everything they'd love to say
Did polite convention not hold sway.
Forget the words that you may hear,
If you chance to wander near.
Forget the pleasantries and smiles
And different conversation styles.
Forget the jovial bonhomie,
The forced familiarity.
Forget the laughter echoing round
With such a very jolly sound.
Concentrate, instead, on thoughts,
Those potent things no-one reports.
*
'I'm sure she wore that dress last year.'
'I cannot stand the stench of beer!'
'I see she's getting laughter lines!'
'Bert is dressed-up to the nines.'
'I hope no-one sees my bra-strap showing'
'The whiskers in his ears keep growing!'
'Oh, for a snooze in my arm-chair!'
Fred and Sue! What a ghastly pair!'
'Bertie's son has been imprisoned!'
'Margie's looking really wizened!'
'I think Arthur fancies me!'
'Polly's such a misery!'

*
Sometimes I feel I see them there,
Thoughts, just floating in mid-air!
*

7 comments:

Sheilagh Lee said...

I love how you took this old family photo and wrote these two beautiful interesting pieces.

Anonymous said...

One of those "bridesmaids" is a man!

Leckeres für Mensch und Katze - Goodies for a pleasant life said...

Nice old picture. LG Tina

earlybird said...

Love the family history but the secret thoughts are wonderfully inventive.

Margaret Gosden said...

Second row, third person in on the left, looks a bit like
your mother when much younger? No doubt you would have said if she was there. It is interesting to
think about one's ancestors...

EG CameraGirl said...

Hehe. Sometimes - maybe most of the time - it's a good thing we don't know what other people are thinking. :)

Margaret said...

Great sepia Saturday post. I find myself trying to read facial expressions and body language in the old images I possess. This was fun.