Roz

This was requested by my grandmother for her friend, who passed away hours after it was read out to her. I never met her, but my grandmother told me a lot about her, to enable me to write this. I'm glad she got to hear the poem and I hope that she liked it. R.I.P. Roz.

You handled your cards with commendable grace -
Never one to concede or welcome defeat,
You played the game at such a pace
That it could have been me in the driver's seat.
Jokers, the two of us, a real diamond pair,
We had laughter to spare! How I smile to think
Of the Christmas indulgences that we shared
And the time when you said I would drive you to drink!
I'm glad that the joy of your company was mine,
For compassion and caring were yours by the spade,
Trading secrets for sympathy, Roses for wine,
And a life for a memory which will never fade.
Through odds and evens, I always felt
That you played like a queen with the hand you were dealt.