The smell of sawdust shavings greet me
As I walk in through the door
How sad am I in knowing
I won’t see your face here anymore
Such a craftsman you were
In your carpentry trade
So many beautiful things
From your skilled hands were made
This shed it was your refuge
A place where you spent so many days
Now it seems so empty and quiet
It’s like the sun has lost its rays
The tools you once worked with
Now lay forlorn amongst the dust
So many of your favourite tools
With time now have begun to rust
Your woodturning machine now lays dormant
Out of use now for over two years
The stool where you once sat remains empty
And the glass on the window is not clear
Smells of oil and timber now linger
In this place that we called your second home
And I take great comfort in knowing
That in this place your spirit still roams
The wonderfully fresh scent of pine needles
Drifts all above my head
As I wander through the forest
And towards the lake I’m lead
The white star flower is abundant
As it covers the forest floor
This place is just so magical
With so much beauty to explore
I’ll sample some wild strawberries
As I move towards the lake
And I’ll pick a bunch of wildflowers
For a floral headpiece I will make
From the edge of the cool clear water
I cast my eyes across the way
And I see my Dad’s old shoolhouse
A place where many memories lay
My Dad once used to tell me
That in Winter he used to skate
From his home down by the water
And to school across the lake
This image I’ve never forgotten
So many tales he once told me
As we’d sit and relive his childhood
Beneath the shade of his favourite tree
My father is no longer living
But his memory will live on in me
I feel his presence in nature’s beauty
Especially in my silver birch tree
A sad journey I made to Sweden
Back in August of '99
My Dad’s ashes I carried with me
So very close was his heart to mine
The journey from Australia to Sweden
Was one of the hardest I’ve had to do
My heart and soul had been shattered
How very much did I pine for you
Your cancer took you so quickly
There was barely time to say goodbye
I tried so hard to remember the good times
As a tear trickled down from my eye
I told Dad we’d bury him in Sweden
The most beautiful place of his birth
And we’d lay him to rest with his parents
They’d be together as one in the earth
My Dad is finally at peace now
Amongst the birches and the pines
Through nature I see him so often
And he resides in this heart of mine
