Love's cardinal points Jan 16 - Feb 7, 2016

The North of love is where your bosom swells,
The East - where you awake to morning's rays,
The South - where in your smile enchantment dwells,
The West - where with my own I hold your gaze;
We have no need of words when hearts amaze.

Recovery of love 16-23 Jan 2016

The ardour, so it seemed, had flagged, grown cold,
And love been smothered by the pangs of guilt
Until, once again, there came that flame of old
Which had been kindled when the fire was built.
Is it that every passion grows then wanes?
Why so? Why - from the nature of the heart,
Which must consolidate the wealth it gains,
Deny the latter any chance to part.
So in the classic game of give and take,
Whose rules, unwritten, yet are eloquent,
The prudent player aims to place their stake
Where love and luck each other complement.
It isn't that I love you any less,
But that I doubt to be so deeply blessed.

Three cuddly cubs who, learning, teach Christmas, 2015

Dedication at Christmas for a picture book of three orphan grizzlies
in volcanic Kamchatka, Russia

Three cubs for Ellie to admire,
Three bred in snow and mountain fire,
Three orphans tasked with life's concerns,
Who show just how the wild heart learns
With help from human fosterers
Enthralled by such cute customers,

Liv joins the fray Late Dec, 2015

Now lovely, lively little Liv
Is adding zest to how we live.
Her contributions every day
Include the pleasure of her play,
The sparkle of her infant eyes,
Her way to find the urgent prize
Of Mummy's breast or Dad's embrace
So she can keep up in life's race
And take fate in her growing hands
On solid ground, not shifting sands.

Nonsense is as nonsense does Dec 15, 2015

Dedication in a book of nonsense by Edward Lear

They talk a lot of nonsense about nonsense -
They say it's just a waste of time, they do!
But what I think is that it isn't nonsense
That sometimes nonsense turns out to be true!

So, Ellie, here's some nonsense to amuse,
In which you'll find there's plenty to enthuse,
And as you laugh you'll marvel at the craft
Of making fun of things by being daft!

Companionship Dec 14, 2015

When lives are with each other twined
They leave their print on heart and mind.
Soul turns to soul alike in kind,
Forever seeking mate to find,
And as the years their pathways wind
Fondness engenders ties that bind.

Soup from the heart Early Dec 2015

On a spinach soup made and brought along by a dear friend

Proud soup of green magnificence,
Prized outcome of munificence,
How sweetly down the throat you move
To prove yourself the gift of love!
Your subtleties inform the mind
You are the acme of your kind!