Monday, December 29, 2014

Looming for pleasure



That special cream tea

This very special day you would have wished
To be with us, now Ellie's in our midst -
And so, indeed, you are, as we recall
How you it was who wanted most of all
To celebrate dear Ellie's company,
The perfect zest to complement cream tea.

Monday, November 3, 2014

The butterfly

I met a butterfly on Skype
With paper wings a child's hand wide.
All crayoned in bright colours ripe,
She longed to take the air to ride

And flutter out into the wild
To meet the world of wonders fine
And wink a thank-you to the child
Who crafted her to suck the vine.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Birthday party

Somewhere there's a girl who's called Ellie
That's partial to stuffing her belly
With all sorts of food
Which does her such good
She's practically grown-up already!
But wait - that's not so,
She's six, don't you know,
And off to her party to prove it.
Give Ellie her hat and her mittens,
Get someone to care for her kittens -
Then, after the dash,
Fun starts at the bash
And Ellie shows how she can move it.


Saturday, October 18, 2014

The seasons

Now when the lesser power of the Sun
In autumn marks the end of summer's reign,
Rebellious colours flood into the leaves
Where stately green once ruled  with sovereign sway.
But this is not revolt for its own sake,
Instead the kind imperative of life,
Whose wisdom seeks to counter winter's storms
And bitter clime by transformation bold
Sufficient to survive with fortitude
Enough to bud again when spring arrives.

The arc of life

The frame that lends life strength must fall apart,
There is no lasting refuge for the heart,
Which, as a player on the stage, gives all
Then bows to let the final curtain fall,
And leaves behind affection's tender trace
In those who were its fellows in life's race.

Name day anniversary

A second time your name day has arrived
Since when your presence vanished from my side
To show love needs an unknown time to pass
Before it can accept the fact of loss.

Each living breath you took went unremarked,
The last, as it expired, went through my heart
But gave me solace, showing that your soul
Had taken flight to find its final goal.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Platelets in the stream

The body's health requires them to be there,
But in their count blood platelets can be rare,
In ceaseless flow these flakes should circulate
To keep the vital spark inviolate.

Such is the furtherance of nature's way,
And shall be so forever and a day.
The course of life is fated to its end -
Then celebrate each moment that we spend.

Dedication of a book of verse

The words here spun, the verses done
Will foster fun beneath the Sun
As long as they are felt to weigh
Sufficiently to charm the day.
Whatever merit be their due,
They are addressed with love to you.

Happy reading!

Forever

Forever is the longest time we know,
Forever further than where we can go.
Forever passes any bound that's set,
Forever focussed on the way ahead.
Forever is the time we cannot live -
Forever be the time in which we give.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Tree-wind and shore-wave

In absence of you
Reminders ensue:
The wind in the trees,
The rustle of leaves
Beguiling the ear
Insist you are near.

The waves on the shore
Well trodden before
Awaken a past
Imprinted to last.

Though leaves may fall still
When wind loses will.
Still water will flow,
As centuries know,
To solace the mind
With memories kind.

Transformation

In Whitstable there is a place
Which has been lent a winsome face
By application of that flair
Required to bring a lightsome air
Where once an outworn ambience
Restricted carefree dalliance.
The garden, partly hid before,
Now blows beyond a picture door,
While through the glass the sky's commanding azure
Commends the change from minor key to major.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Hard to burr

A bear in a bush felt a burr
Presuming to stick in his fur.
His ursine composure went "phut!"
And outward he crashed with his butt,
Acquiring - no need to ask where -
Attachments abhorrent to bear.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Seasons' dance

Close by the garden wall one butterfly
Flutters half-heartedly into the blue
Now fading from its depth of summer hue
As autumn, duly coming, brings its sly
Replacements of white nights and balmy breeze,
Trips with new steps into the seasons' dance,
Which sometimes may dissemble, look like chance,
Though purposefully set to strip the trees,
Iconically marking what must be
As long as Earth and Sun keep company.

Vital urge

A late-night storm. I hear a fly arrive,
Half waking me in panic to survive.
Drowsy, I trudge alone where once we walked,
Keeping now silent council where we talked.

Sleep intervenes, the vision loses force,
But deep within the muse pursues her course.
Man slips into the world from mother's womb
And exits willy-nilly to the tomb.

Though life be short, art ventures to be long,
Crafting a legacy to spite the storm,
Daring throughout the ages to perform
The ceaseless task to keep the spirit strong.

Young man limerick

There was a young man who hoped, madly,
 He'd meet a young lady who'd gladly
 Devote her whole life
 To being his wife
 Without it all ending up badly.

Holding, and lingering, on

Leaving behind what cannot come along,
Trusting to memory to guard her own,
Yet still the while to celebrate through song
And fashion for the past a fitting home -

So grief discovers what is willed to live
In recognition of a lucky two
Who found the secret of the way to give
And won a prize enjoyed by all too few.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Holding on

Hold on to life until there's none to give,
Hold on until the spirit fails to move.
Which part is cast, what prompts the final bow
Remain unknown until the boards are trod.

So seize each day upon the break of dawn,
Give what's to give within affection's gift
And cherish the response it calls to life.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Evocation

At midnight raindrops patter and I listen,
Reflecting that but one of us now hears
What long ago attended our admission
Of shared affection spoken through our tears.

So sound and silence animate anew
A memory consigned to shallow rest,
And wake it from soft slumber to imbue
A past quiescent with a new born zest.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Birthday has arrived


The time has come to spread good cheer
As you achieve your moving goal
To prosper through the present year
With gladness smiling from your soul.
One twelvemonth goes, another starts
For your first child to capture hearts.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

A tardy if a heart-felt wish

I plumb forgot your birthday, Ginger Dear -
No thought to check my list of dates, I fear.
Belatedly, I'd say that, on my part,
The lack lay in my mind, not in my heart.
So here's a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" wish from me,
Who deems you near, though far across the sea.

To A

So life advances, bringing joy and cheer
As you prepare to bear your tender heir,
And feel the happy birthday hour draw near
When you will fold your new born in your care.

The new arrival

Though birthing is an everyday event
On whose occurrence heart to heart will move,
No individual's every day is spent
In bringing to the world a life to love.

Arrivals that are new are nothing new -
Unless, that is, their destination's you,
And what is new to you will stand compare
When measured by the joy we all shall share.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Chomp till ready

Masticate with every bite,
Swallow when the time is right.
Delectation then transpires,
Tailored to your taste's desires.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Together

Souls interact when hearts entwine,
So let this be for yours and mine:
Confer your favour where it lies -
Confess the yearning in your eyes!

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Return to form

The anxious waiting now is done,
To be replaced by boundless fun.
Brave Darla's back upon the scene,
As feisty as she's ever been.
Her eye's are bright, her gait is strong,
She's up and active all day long.

Look! Round the home and in the yard
Her padding paws are working hard
To mark the realm where she is seen
As rightful, sole and sovereign queen,
Whose majesty beyond compare
Belies her readiness to share
Her cheering mirth and potent flair
To spread good humour everywhere.

Attired in regrown snowy fur,
She casts a glow of warm allure,
Conceived to make admirers joyful
To have her once again an eyeful
And hold her place as perfect pal,
Fond playmate to her guy and gal.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Ever persistent

Not while the lamp of memory is lit
Need there be trepidation of the dark -
The present and the past maintain their fit,
And life persists while soul retains its spark.

The centre holds

Were we to roam the globe entire
In search of places to admire,
We would not move from this dear spot
Which we have found to share our lot -
It is the here where hearts of two conspire
To celebrate the ardour of love's fire.

Carrying on

As, in your caring heart, I found myself,
So, in your fateful absence, I am lost,
Until upon reflection in the round
I see the wondrous value of a life
Suffices to sustain the vital urge.

What lies ahead


A mantis with a pair of specs may point
A new approach to find the way to show
Our androids three dimensions when they look,
On our behalf, to undertake the tasks
That we, in hubris, for ourselves reject.

But how shall we respond once androids learn
To put anthropogenic skills to use
In order to supplant the human race -
Other, that is, than castigate ourselves
For failing to oppose this fateful trend
Which now seems set to threaten all our lives
And place us underneath the robot heel?

Anniversary

The days of spring are lengthening as winter nights retreat,
The Earth adopts a new attire from Sun's advancing heat,
And we are met again one year from that defining day
When you departed from our midst and blessed us on our way.
To  celebrate this anniversary is not thereby
To slip into nostalgia or dwell upon the past.
You urged us to pursue our paths without you by our sides,
And this we do while keeping safe a place where you reside.

Your last request we honour - to accept finality -
Save that to grieve is human and deep memories will last,
Though still throughout the turbulence that marks the life of man
The hopeful heart obeys the urge to love because it can.




Expecting

The chain of life, whose links are love's result
Embodied as the next to take their place
Within the pageant of the march of kin,
Is soon to be enlarged by newborn gain,
And we who share this message of such joy
Are joined together waiting on the day
Of culmination when fruition comes.