THE SEASONS OF HER LIFE

Eyes like saucers blink at the unaccustomed light.
One moment the warmth of the womb, the next a strange new place.
A child in the springtime of her life.
These first few years her mother feeds her, cleans and dresses her.
Holds her.
Always there for every need.

Soon she walks, she talks and plays.
School, and friends, and then,
independence calls and she breaks free.
A young lady who runs home with tear filled eyes
with every broken romance.
Once more a child.

Now’s the summer of her life.
She’s blossomed and bloomed and then it’s she
who brings into this world a child of her own.
She’s brimming with optimism, everything is possible.
She climbs life’s ladder, reaches for the stars.
The great entertainer, the belle of the ball
A partner that worships her every move.
But life’s not always sweet
These are the days of ups and downs.
Mostly sunshine but sometimes showers
Things sent to try her, but she never despairs.

Weary with work she looks forward to the future.
Family grown up and she’s preparing to swap
her days filled with work and toil and stress
for days of contentment and rest.
For now it’s the autumn of her life.
Mellow. A slower pace. Time to stop. Time to breath.
The children now have families of their own
Granny they call her. She gently smiles
as the memory of life’s seasons past
Flood her mind.

Where did time go? It seems only yesterday that she was young.
Pictures from the past flood her mind
Details intact.
She still hears the sounds of years ago, still senses, still feels
But what passed seconds before she cannot recall.
Her partner has gone. Her family have lives of their own
She feels alone. A shadow of her former self.

Weary eyes blink at bright sunlight through unfamiliar windows.
One minute the warmth of her home and now this strange new place.
A lonely confused soul in the winter of her life.
These last few years her daughter feeds her, cleans and dresses her.
Holds her.
Always there for every need.

A SILLY CHRISTMAS POEM

‘Twas Christmas Eve and three men died,

and climbed the stairs to heaven.

But when they knocked on Peter’s gate

He said they’d have to sit and wait.‘

It’s Christmas Eve, I need my rest

My annual holiday’,

They pleaded, begged down on their knees’‘

tis Christmas help us please..’

‘OK’ said Peter, ‘here’s what I’ll do

I’ll set a test for all of you.

If you can give me festive cheer

Then there’s a place for you in here’

The first man thought and suddenly

His cell phone rang and rang.

St Peter said ‘that sound will do

I’m going to let you walk on through’

‘You see’ he said,’ it sounds like bells,

bells on Christmas day

Come on in, sit right down

You can wear my pearly crown'.

The second man lit up a fag

He lit it with a match

‘That’s great’ said Peter,’ that will do,

You can come on in here too!’

You see he said, that’s just like lights

Lights I had at home.

Like Christmas candles on my shelf

You’ve taken me outside myself.

The third man wondered what to do

His mind was just a blank.

Then he remembered what he did

That caused his heart to shoot it’s lid.

He plunged his arm into his bag

And rummaged through his bits.

Then held his hand up really high

and waved a thong up in the sky!

‘That’s not festive’ Peter said

‘It’s intimate apparel’

‘It’s Christmassy’ the dead man said'

'Because this thong is Carols!'

MOMENT

Cherish this moment

This fleeting moment.

If this moment is happy

Remember it.

If this moment is sad,

don’t worry.

It’s already passed.

NOVEMBER

Spears of silver sunlight

Shoot through naked trees

Lighting up the leaf strewn lane

that flickers in the breeze.

A squirrel scurries cross the track

A rabbit sits and stares

A pigeon sways upon a branch

A red fox stands and glares.

High in the sky,

unbroken blue,a perfect v of geese.

On distant hill a flock of sheep

Wrapped in winter fleece.

Red holly berries, mistletoe,

Ivy climbs stone walls.

Dormant plants and sleeping flowers

Wait til springtime calls.

November days, brief spells of sun

Evenings front a fire of logs

November nights of crackling frost

Misty dawns and frozen bogs.

Winter’s here

Spring can wait

Now’s the time to hibernate.

FRIENDSHIP

I used to have a ginger cat

First friend I ever made.

Got squashed outside my house one night,

I scraped him up with a spade.

I had a friend at junior school

I called him Sunny Jim.

One day he took off with my girlfriend

That’s the last I saw of him.

When I got my first job

I made a friend of my boss

We fell out when he sacked me

That made me awfully cross.

When I left home to work away

I shared my flat with mates

But they were always in the way

And ruined all my dates.

So when I got my own place

I had a friend called Jane,

She let me down -

I threw her out..

I went to live in Spain.

I made a friend in Barcelona

A Spanish senorita

At least that’s what I thought she was

‘til I found her name was Rita.

Let’s find a friend I said one day,

a friend I can rely on.

A friend that I can take to bed

A friend that I can lye on!

I got a local paper

Wrote a ‘lonely heart’,

I waited for the telephone

New friend, new life, new start.

I got a date, hooray I said

I’ll keep her if I can

But once again my plan went wrong

Turned out to be a man.

All my life it’s been the same

Friends have let me down.

Girlfriends, wives and drinking pals

White ones, black ones, brown.

But now I have a real friend

Someone who knows my mind

Someone who thinks like I do

Someone who’s really kind.

A friend who’s always by my side

A friend who’ll never flee

A friend who knows just what I want

My new best friend is me.

DREAMS

We live two lives. Two different lives.
During our waking hours we go about our daily toil.
We work, we play. We do the things we have to do.
Every day.
Circumstances determine our direction
yet we ultimately dictate our own destiny.

We have another world.
A world which we escape to.
A world we enter when we sleep.
One which exists only in our mind .
One in which the people we meet are unaware that we have met.
And the impossible happens.
The dream.

Last night I was a teacher.
Last week I went to Spain
Last month I led an orchestra
Last year I flew a plane.

In my dreams I can be anyone.Anything. Anywhere!
Some dreams delight but others scare.
There is a thin line between bliss and the stuff of nightmares.
Some mornings I awake frustrated that my alarm has interrupted a magic adventure. Sometimes relief when I find my torment was unreal.

The dream - an inspiration to writers of songs.
'In dreams I walk with you’
‘Sweet dreams are made of this’
‘Dream lover where are you’.

‘I can make you mine, taste your lips of wine any time night or day.
The only trouble is - gee wiz- I’m dreaming my life away’
.
The dream inspired the idealists and visionaries of our time.

'I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character’

I had a dream the other night
A dream that made me scared
I had a dream , I had a fright
A dream I wish I’d shared.

Dreams can be vivid. Often the gulf between reality and the imaginary can blur. Did I go there, or did I dream it? Did I say that? I hope I dreamt it. Why did I do that? I wish I’d dreamt it.

The other night I dreamt I fell,
and fell and fell into a well.
Faster faster down I dropped'
but then I woke,my falling stopped.
Phew!

Two lives - two worlds.

ABOUT MY FRIEND

My friend for life is always there

My friend for life will always care

about the things that worry me,

about the times when I cant see

that things around arn't quite as bad,

the things that make me lone and sad.

My friend for life won't ever judge,

or critisize, or hold a grudge.

My friend for life will never tell

my darkest secrets,never sell

me out to those who wish me hurt,

to those who try to dish the dirt.

My friend can always talk to me,

about the the things that she can see.

The things that make her scared to go

to places dark and deep below.

To places only we two know.

My friend for life knows who she is,

My friend for life my heart I give.

xxoo

I'D LOVE TO WRITE A POEM

I’d love to write a poem

A poem of my own

One which people want to read

So I’ll become well known.

I sit and stare into my screen

The words just fail to flow

I scratch my head and bite my nails

My poem just won’t grow.

The other day a line appeared

inside my fuzzy head.

But could I find some words to rhyme?

I wrote some prose instead.

‘The boy stood on the burning deck’

'Lonely goat herd, hills.’

‘Once more into the breach dear friends’

‘A host of golden daffodils’

If they can do it why can’t I?

It’s not for want of trying.

My friends can do it, it’s not fair

I think I feel like crying.

So let’s have a practice

find some words wot rhyme.

Let's try really really hard

And invest some time.

Bard, card, lard, yard, jarred?

Plop, hop, drop, cop, mop

Kite, white, fight, might, plight

Stop, crop, lop, bop, flop.

That didn’t help,

at least I tried

I don’t know what to do.

But wait a minute,

something stirred!

A feeling that’s quite new.

Here goes!

‘He gazed into her longing eyes

And saw inside her mind.

He gazed at her and realised

that he...he ....he.....’
Oh poo!

 I guess I’ll never make the grade

I’ll never be a bard.

Poetry is not my thing

It’s far too bloody hard!

THE KEY

I’m looking for a key.

One which will open the secret of a life I seek,

but cannot find.

The key to total happiness.

I’m trying to find the key in which to sing my song.

The key which will carry my melody.

The key which everyone can reach,

so we can all sing in in harmony.

I’ve lost a key.

What happened to the key to my box?

The box of treasures which I am saving for the day

when I need to remind myself how lucky I’ve been.

Please help me find my key.

Somewhere there is a key to break my code.

The code I was given in the cradle.

The code which explains who I am and why I’m here.

The key to me.

My arch of life would be nothing but a pile of bricks

without a keystone to hold each side in place.

One small stone, which if removed,

would send my life crashing down around me.

I have a key which winds my clock.

The clock within me.

I must look after my key.

my pendulum of life will stop.

Key means vital, fundamental,

Basic, main and quintessential.

Key means major,

key means crucial

My keys to me are ever central.

RENEWAL

I’ve tried it,

I’ve done it.

Not once,

Nor twice,

but thrice.

***
I’ve been there,

I’ve seen there.

It happened

It failed,

now I’m free.

***
Now I’m reborn,

no longer forlorn.

I’m happy,

I’m carefree,

I’m ME!

***
The future is here,

The future is clear.

Now I will live,

now I will give,

now I will let myself grow.

***
What shall I do?

Where shall I go?

I’ll do what I want

when ever I want.

I’ll do whatever I please!