7 years

7 years have now gone by
Since we lost our darling Bren;
We miss his laughs and banter
And the joy we shared back then.

‘Though years will pass and time march on,
On this you can rely –
Our love for him, it is so deep,
And it will never die.

Six years

It’s 6 years since we lost you,
And we miss the pranks and fun;
We miss the love, the mirth and joy
You brought to everyone.

Though memories may fade with time,
On this you can rely –
Our love for you, it is so deep,
And it will never die.

Five years

It’s five years since we lost you,
And we miss you every day;
Your laughs and jokes and banter,
All the silly things you’d say.

Tho’ years will pass and time march on,
On this you can rely –
Our love for you, it is so deep,
And it will never die.

All honour to a boy so brave

All honour to a boy so brave,
Who, on the battle field
Fought a beast so ferociously,
And never thought to yield.

All honour to that boy so bold,
Who snubbed all cancer’s woes;
Who never let it get him down,
Who smiled through all the lows.

All honour to that boy so kind,
Who thought of others first;
Who hid his pain and fears from them,
Through cancer’s brutal worst.

Who complained not, through 6 whole years,
Of battling that vile brute,
Gave treasured hugs to those he loved
When things became acute.

All honour to that boy so wise,
Aged well beyond his years;
Who cared for other people so,
Was always full of cheers.

All honour to that boy so brave,
May he inspire us all
To fight our battles with good cheer,
Though backs be to the wall.

All honour to his memory,
That boy who inspired all,
Our beautiful, darling Brennan,
Who went to meet God’s call.

From the corner of my eye

Last night, when I went off to bed,
Your photo I walked by.
And I thought I saw you smiling
From the corner of my eye.

I went back for a second look,
And you were smiling fair;
But it was not the jolly grin
I’d thought that I saw there.

I moved away with one more glance,
And saw you wink an eye;
I doubled back and looked again,
Back at my darling guy.

Once more, you smiled with innocence,
From down upon the wall;
I stood and stared at you again –
You didn’t move at all.

Could it have been a trick of light,
Had it really happened?
Was it all just wishful thinking,
Something I’d imagined?

I looked once more at that photo,
And swear your smile just grew;
And did you lift your head an inch,
When I glanced away from you?

I looked at you again so deep,
I held your eyes with mine;
And once again your smile, it grew,
As if giving me a sign.

A sign to let me know you’re near,
And watching over me;
That you are well and happy and
Your spirit’s running free.

I looked once more straight at your smile,
But it was still again;
I turned aside, looked straight ahead,
And saw you grin again.

Although you are with me no more,
It is not a goodbye;
I know that I can still see you
From the corner of my eye.

Four years

It’s four years since we lost you,
And we miss our darling boy;
Our Bren who brought our lives such fun,
Such laughter, love and joy.
We miss you Bren, we always will,
Wherever we may be;
The bond we shared with you will last
For perpetuity.

Bren’s bravery

Brennan, you were the bravest boy, you endured so much pain
And fought so hard for six whole years, although it was in vain.
The beast you fought was so vicious, that you could never win,
But each attack that beast sparked off, you took upon the chin.

You snubbed that beast, ignored its roars, refused to let it win,
And any pain or fears you had, you held them all within.
We saw you smile and laugh and joke, but never saw you cry;
You stood firm and strong and tenacious while the years passed by.

So many things you couldn’t do and never got to see,
While all your mates were living life and running high and free.
You were too ill to be with them, join in their hijinks too;
We hate that beast and all it did, taking your life from you.

But that beast showed us your grit, and your love and care for all.
When things were at their utter worst, your back against the wall,
Your life so full of woes and pain, of medics, of mayhem,
You still put other people first, still showed such care for them.

Brennan, we are so proud of you, and we will always be.
Your courage and your caring, your abounding sense of glee;
Those are the things we think of whenever we think of you.
We wish also that beast vanquished so that we’d still have you.

Three years

Three years ago we parted, but you left something behind –
Cherished memories of you, that are always on our mind.
And memories of times to come, times that are yet to be;
Times when you should be there with us, with Dad and Pat and me.
The love and joy you brought to us was beyond all measure;
To have you in our family was a gift we so treasure.

Fun and laughs with Brennan

Fun and laughs with Brennan, such delight he brought to all; Jokes and banter and cheeky tricks, chortles big and small. Life with Bren held so much joy, and love for others too; You had a hug from Brennan, you’d know that he loved you.

Many ways he’d show his love, to those he held most dear; Whether they be friend or fam’ly, whether far or near. The love he had for others was beautiful to see; The bond he shared with Patrick, and also Dad and me.

The way he’d sit beside us, and squash us to the bone, His head atop our shoulder, while playing on his phone; He’d hold hands with his grandpa, ’twas just the sweetest thing To see Bren hold his hand out, for Pa to come to him.

Bren, he was an Aussie bloke, as Aussie as can be; He loved to tease and trick us, he’d cackle loud with glee. He’d grab some eggs to juggle, and we would gasp and splurt When he’d toss them in the air; we’d laugh so much it hurt!

He loved to walk down Pako, in the arvo, Sundays; And loved to cook for others, his fav’rite cheese soufflés. And spicy food, how Bren loved it, how he’d sit and laugh As we three would yell and scream for something cold to quaff!

Christmas time was Santa time, with Bren atop his knee; A bribe in hand and games in mind, Bren would sit with glee. And he’d do some gardening to earn a buck or two; Thus bit by bit the games he had grew and grew and grew.

How Bren loved all our cats, but one was extra special; Old Fat Cat was Bren’s best mate, how they loved to snuggle. If Bren was sitting down, you’d know Fat Cat would be near; That bond between the two of them, we hold very dear.

Something that Bren did not like, he did not like at all; He did not like the magpies, the ravens or their call. Flying, too, he feared it, with an animus so strong; He’d front up to the airport, then talk the whole flight long.

He always thought of others, and always put them first; Though he suffered so much pain, he hid from us the worst. And we have many tales of his care for other folk; Such a thoughtful guy he was, a warm and caring bloke.

Now that Bren’s with us no more, our love still carries on; A love staunch and unwavering, for our darling son. Thank you, Bren, for being there and bringing us such joy; We’ll never forget those treasured times with our dearest boy.

Eighteen years

Eighteen years we had with Brennan, eighteen years of joy;
Eighteen years of fun and laughter with our darling boy.
The time we had together, the memories we share,
Have forged a bond so deep and strong, nothing can compare.

But God called Bren away too soon, cut our time too short.
To have your child get cancer, what parent would have thought?
We saw Bren fight with courage, that cheeky smile still there;
Saw him snub that cancer, live life without a care.

For six whole years he fought that beast, fought it hard and strong,
Still his bright and cheerful self, as he was his life long.
He had such care for others, although he was so ill,
Our only wish today is that Bren be with us still.

We will always remember the happy times we had
With our beautiful, brave boy, our smart and charming lad.
The hugs for those he loved when his time to leave was near;
We’ll cherish them forever, through every passing year.

The laughs and spats, the chats and jokes that he shared with us
Are memories so treasured, memories so precious.
We will always love our Bren, whatever life may hold.
To have had him in our lives, we prize that more than gold.

We will always miss our Bren, that empty space will stay
And evoke many memories, each and every day.
But memories can’t replace Bren, nothing ever will;
As time goes on, as years pass by, we ache for him still.