art imitating life (to be)

I have an idea of what I want to do when I retire.
When I am an old lady I will visit art galleries all over the world (they must have a cafe that sells good coffee and exquisite cake). I will sit in front of the paintings and imagine the stories held within them.
I think this is pretty cool plan and I am already excited about it (even more exciting are the decades of life to fill between now and then).
Anyway I told a friend of mine my idea and he wrote this amazing poem inspired by it. I am so thrilled and delighted to have a poem written about my future self (how cool is that!) and he has very kindly let me share it with you here:

'The Perfect Retirement' by Niall O'Strich

Strange no doubt

But a mesmerising way

To spend her day

Sipping delicious coffee

In a fine cafe

Staring intently at paintings

It's what she'd always done

So nothing new

... When it came to

Imagining what each artist went through

A painting of the countryside

The little girl in the foreground

Playing on a slide

While her blonde curls sway

It makes her think

Is this the artist's child

Or maybe

A distant memory of her own

When she got to enjoy a summer's day

All of this gave her

Peace of mind

One thing's for sure

Whenever she did this

The day wasn't a pursuit so blind

So it was only ever her

Her coffee

& more often than not a creamed cake on the side

Although the odd time she did take a break

To appreciate the evening tide

Through the window

It was her way of keeping calm

Of forgetting her worries

Really there weren't any

She had three incredible kids

& neither was she short a penny

Niall has lots more of his work here do stop by and take a look, have a wee read. His work is fantastic and a good mix of beautiful, funny, observant and completely heart breaking. He has struggled with a rare form of OCD for pretty much all of his life and many of his poems reflect that journey. He is inspiring and a very dear friend of mine.

Thank you Mr O'Strich x