At last I have been able to complete your poem Pepé. Sometimes I still cry, but you were such an inspiration, so full of fun. This poem is a celebration of your character - of your life.

Sonnet for Pepé

When I was reduced to tears by your sentence
I wondered whether time meant anything to you;
if you understood years, months, weeks or if a few
days would be as good as a lifetime. Your sense

of things permitted no blackness, no silence
no change of routine, no wallowing. You grew,
as you always did, into each fresh hour. Too
busy chasing leaves, paper, sticks, to be tense

about tomorrow. You let nothing go:
You didn’t waste a moment: for a moment
could be months or years for all we know.
You wouldn’t let me be sad; you were content
and taught me the same trick - status quo.
So this is celebration darling, not lament.