PURPLE FINCH

 

Have you ever seen a Purple Finch?

Apparently, I did indeed once see one

I didn’t know it at the time of course

Because they are Crimson

IN THE AUTUMN MEADOW

 

In the autumn meadow

Everywhere was wet with Dew

And highlighted in the tall grasses

Were a myriad of lustrous webs

waiting to reward their architects

For their industry and patience

NIGHTINGALE SONG

 

The powerful and beautiful song

Of the common nightingale

Has a songful rhythm and rhyme

And the small passerine bird

Whose voice belies its size

Has beauty that strikes a chord

THEY MUST CROSS THE BARREN EARTH

 

They must cross the barren earth

Where once wheat and barley grew

A land where nothing lives in the mud

And an eerie silence hugs the land

Until the chattering of machine gun fire

Breaks the quietness of the morning

And hails of bullets cut like a scythe

Until like wheat and barley they fall

GOLDEN GOWN

 

The deciduous trees still have their foliage on

With autumn changing hues like a chameleon

From yellow and gold and red and brown

Some leaves have already began falling down

Then the autumn gales come quite inevitable

Leaving the once proud trees quite skeletal

Sadly, now all the leaves have fallen down

Thus adding to mother nature’s golden gown

GATHER IN THE WOODLAND LILIES

 

Gather in the woodland lilies

Kissed with natures gentle dew

Lay them on the polished oak

And bid your love a fond adieu

THISTLEDOWN, IN IDLE FLIGHT

 

Thistledown, in idle flight

Drifts upon the highland wind

Like ancestral spirits

NEVIS

 

In the lochs reflection

Could be glimpsed

The gentle caress of clouds

Atop the granite peaks

Before they thickened

To hide the Ben

Then separated like parting friends

To reveal the stark silhouette

Against the blue

And through these inconsistent clouds

The sun would burst

Illuminating the glen

And its heathered hills

As the clouds moved west

The sunbeam moved

Like a torches light

And in the distance

The hills appeared to move

As if in a lantern show

Then on the freshening wind

From the west

Squally showers blew in

And the sun painted

A rainbow across the sky

And as quickly as it had arrived

The showers blew away

And the rainbow faded

Evaporating to nothing

Then the sun began to set

Beyond the western isles

And turned the sky red

With streaks of pink and gold

Decorating the whole sky

And when the sun sank

Beyond those misty isles

The night wrapped the glen

In its dark shroud

AUTUMN REFLECTIONS

 

I stood on the wet sand

On that cold autumn morning

In the autumn of my years

With the breeze off the sea

Chilling my old bones

And gazed out across the bay

To the distant purple hills

Their edges blurred and softened

By the early morning mist

Their indistinct silhouette

Reflected on the moving water

The tidal water pulling at the reflection

As it moved inexorably to the open sea

And seemingly carrying with it

All of my unfulfilled hopes and dreams

With a shiver I turned from the scene

And made my way along the beach

My eyes were drawn to the hillside

Where the sparsely covered trees stand

With the last of the leaves falling

Each fluttering to the ground

Each leaf’s fall symbolic

Like the dates of a calendar

Being peeled off one by one

Ticking off the days of my life

As I head towards my winter

NATURAL MUSIC

 

Bird song abounds like a symphony

Scripted by natures unseen composer

Conducted by the baton of an invisible maestro

The shrill woodwinds

Of Blackbirds, Finches, Thrush and the Tit family

While the Cuckoo sets the time

And a Woodpecker beats a rhythm

The breeze moves the leafy canopy

Like vibrant cascading strings

Timber’s creek and strain adding percussion

Rutting Stags and distant plaintive cries

A Fox cry and a Peacock’s call

Waterfowl and cooing Doves

Underscored by the beating wings of birds in flight

Insects join the improvised symphony

Droning Bees and Dragonfly

A symbol crash as a Duck enters the water

A waterfall adds the rolling kettle drum

Distant thunder booms like a bass drum

And Xylophonic drops of rain hit the lake

While a Swan gracefully dances

Across the water in perfect harmony

God in heaven the impresario

Of mother nature’s philharmonic company

KING GEORGE’S PARAKEETS

 

It was unbearably hot

Unbearably humid

Even breathing was exhausting

Overcome with fatigue

I parked my jeep at the roadside

In a shaded spot

I recline my seat

And pulled my hat over my eyes

And tried to grab forty

My shirt was soaked with sweat

And stuck to me and the seat

It was no good I couldn’t sleep

It was the constant noise

But not from the traffic

Rumbling by

It was the birds

Squabbling parakeets

Hundreds of them

Chattering and squawking

I gave up trying to nap

And got back underway

You come to expect this

Next to an Australian highway

But not parked in a lay-by

Next to a reservoir in Staines

PERFECT PARADISE

 

The crystal waters

Wash gently onto

Virgin white sand

Untrod by man

Unspoiled by technology

And no vapour trails

Mark the azure sky

 

The trees untended

Lay where they fell

The coconuts un-harvested

But for the wind

Lay untouched also

 

They beach stretched

As far as the eye could see

Far into the distance

Un-marked and un-scarred

No buildings

No phone masts

No pylons

No wind farms

Or streetlights

The only sounds to be heard

Were the waves breaking,

The gentle breeze in the palms

And assorted birdcalls

No gunfire

No car alarms

No train whistles

No sonic booms

Or traffic

Just a perfect silence

 

No flotsam of plastics and tins

Littered the beach

Just endless white sand’s

And perfect blue skies

The rustles of palm fronds

And warm scented breezes

So where is this paradise?

It’s in the long distant past

LOOK AT THEM

 

They appear morning

Noon and night

They swell and grow

Rise and fall

And dissolve and shrink

They are sometimes thick

Sometimes thin

They are sometimes dense

Sometimes transparent

They move fast and slow

They cross treetops and fields

Lakes and seas

Homes and factories

Deserts and swamps

Tropical rainforests

And arctic tundra’s

They are beautiful and familiar

Strange and dramatic

They are myriad in form and shape

A face, a mountain, a fish

They are brown and gray

Steel blue and black

Yellow and gold

Lilac and pink

But mostly clouds are white

WHERE EAGLE’S DARE

 

Over mountains up on high

A lonely Eagle had to fly

For years he had been alone 

In the mountains on his own

Mostly he was a happy lad

But sometimes he got sad

So decided to fly down below

For some “company” you know

 

It wasn’t a very long journey

Before he reached a leafy tree

Where he met a Tit called Tina

And there the Eagle had her

Then after he had had his way 

He bad farewell and flew away 

So after the deed was done

And the Eagle had had his fun 

Tina said, “I am a little Tit

And I’ve had a little bit

And I liked it”

 

Over mountains up on high

A lonely Eagle had to fly

For years he had been alone 

In the mountains on his own

Mostly he was a happy lad

But sometimes he got sad

So decided to fly down below

For some “company” you know

 

It wasn’t a very long journey

Before he reached a leafy tree

And he met a Dove called Daisy

Where the Eagle had her easily

Then after he had had his way 

He bad farewell and flew away  

So after the deed was done

And the Eagle had had his fun 

Daisy Said, “I am a little dove

And I’ve had a little love

And I liked it”

 

Over mountains up on high

A lonely Eagle had to fly

For years he had been alone 

In the mountains on his own

Mostly he was a happy lad

But sometimes he got sad

So decided to fly down below

For some “company” you know

 

It’s journey wasn’t very harsh

And soon he reached a marsh

Where the met a Duck called Jo

And the Eagle had her just so

Then after he had had his way 

He bad farewell and flew away 

So after the deed was done

And the eagle had had his fun 

Jo said, “I am a little Drake

And he made a big mistake

But I liked it”

A PASSING CIVILIZATION

 

Fast food packaging

Hits the ground

As a car passes

Paper cups dance

In the artificial breeze

As a lorry passes

In the shrubbery

Tin cans and wrappers lie

As a pedestrian passes

Tickets, receipts, cartons

Bottles, tins and old refrigerators

Each successive piece surpasses

But nature will overcome

Our laziness and contempt

When our tenancy passes

THE GIANT ATTRACTION

 

In captivity Panda’s suffer

Great indignity

They’re sexual failures

On display for all to see

I WANT TO LIVE

I want to live

Where you can see stars

In the night sky

And it actually gets dark at night

 

I want to live

Where the riverbanks

Are grass and reed

And the dominant colour is green

 

I want to live

Where the animals

Outnumber cars

And I know all my neighbours by name

 

I want to live

An idyllic country life

In a village or on a farm

In a chocolate box paradise

WIND

 

Wind is a wonderful thing

Invisibly it makes the leaves dance

And trees gyrate as if shaken

By an invisible hand

Water is pushed before it

Rain and snow are driven by it

It ripples through cornfields

Whispers in the grass

It whistles through canyons

Whines like a tortured spirit

Or scream like a banshee

It is a fickle force

It can be silent like a mouse

Or roar like a lion

Its gentleness can caress your cheek

Its awesome power

Can toss you like a rag doll

Or snap you like a twig

Its power is to be respected

It’s uncompromising and indiscriminate

A force to be reckoned with

Whether from the frozen north

Or a bitter easterly

A stormy westerly

Or a vengeful tempest from the south

BENEATH AUTUMNAL SKIES

 

Beneath autumnal skies

The suns strength diminishes

With each passing day

Then foliage turns slowly

From green to gold

And finally to red and brown

Before fluttering to earth

The gentle late summer breezes

Make them dance

And when breeze turns to raging storm

They’re sent swirling

As if court in some frenetic snow globe

The lucky ones escape this chaos

And ends their short lives

Trapped Beneath hedgerows

Or blown into quiet corners

The rest whirl like dervishes

Hither and thither

Until the winter rains

Turn them to mush under foot

MY FAVOURITE TIME

 

It’s my favourite time

A special time

A magical time

A time for romancing lovers

For shared enjoyment

Or solitary reflection

A time to drink in the vistas

Along with the cocktails

Awe inspiring displays

Whether over the open sea

Or beyond high distant mountains

Over prairie or savannah

Or painting barren desert

Or colouring the icy tundra

Illuminating a city landscape

Whether it’s across the river

Or behind the gas works

It’s a magical time

A special time

It’s my favourite time

When the sun sets

 

WILDERNESS

 

The fierce sun burned the land

Cracking stone, bleaching bone

Drying the rich earth to dust

To be blown on the four winds

Or washed away by unforgiving rains

So infrequent in their coming

 

Unable to penetrate the iron earth

Rain-washed off the barren land

Like it were a repellent oily hide

Leaving it sterile and infertile

To all but natures hardiest

Most determined to cling to life

 

In the fast-expanding wilderness

Beneath rocks and stones life goes on

Insects toil industriously on

While un-germinated seeds bide their time

Until nature smiles once more

On this harsh and arid land

SHORELINE

 

We walk together hand in hand

As we stroll across wet sand

The sun sets, as the day grows old

Turning silver seas to shining gold

We continue our walk in twilight

As the moon illuminates the night

And the stars adorn the heavens

The sea breeze soon then freshens

Surf moves higher up the shore

We head back to home once more

A BUTTERFLY FLUTTERS BY

 

Butterflies flutter by

On a balmy summer afternoon

An earthy fragrance in the air

After a shower of summer rain

Mingles with jasmine and honeysuckle

And you doze on the patio

Only to be awoken

By the more powerful fragrance

Emanating from the BBQ

And the chink of ice in a G & T

 

SUMMER COLOUR

 

I love the colors of summer

From Vivid pinks loud and shocking

To more paler and subtle

And all those in between

Whites of abundant variety

Blues of every conceivable hue

Deep velvet purples and vibrant violets

Greens contrasting from dark olive

Through luscious emeralds to pale pastels

Soft lemon and pale sensual yellow

Loud in your face, reds, crimson and scarlet

Across the spectrum every shade

How I love the girls in summer

WEATHER OR NOT # 1

 

They tell us it’s the climate

That makes our country wet

So, climate is what we expect

But weather is what we get

SUNSHINE

 

A day without sunshine?

Now let me get this right

A day without sunshine?

That would be like, night

FALCON IN THE GARDEN

 

In the late summer sky

The falcon in majestic flight

Spied it’s unfortunate prey

Then swooped down from great height

 

With lightning speed

It took a pigeon on the wing

Then with much less grace and style

It performed a clumsy landing

 

In a quiet village garden

On the sunny patch of grass

The falcon went about its work

And performed the coup de gras

 

From the house a curious cat

Peered out with envious eyes

Through a window as the falcon

Devoured its pigeon prize

 

The cat crept through the cat flap

In its most stealthy way

The falcon though was off

But left behind its pigeon prey

 

The cat inspected the pigeon

Sniffed it and poked it with her paw

Found it a disappointment

And she strolled away once more

 

As she strolled back to the house

The falcon swooped to the ground

Snatched up his pigeon prize

Before the cat could turn around

 

The falcon had taken the bird

Leaving nothing in its place

Leaving only feathers on the lawn

And a scowl on the cat’s face

ON A STORMY NIGHT

 

On a stormy night

As stranger’s slumber

Around the gables

The wild wind howled

And rain hit the panes

Like thrown gravel

As the lightning struck

And thunder growled

FLAME TREES

 

Flame trees in the jungle

Petals like tongues of fire

Burning bright in paradise

FROM THE BREAK OF EACH NEW DAWN

 

From the break of each new dawn

When heralding the new day

The sun crests the horizon

To Paint the eastern sky

With natures orange glow

Until it sets again

In majestic splendour

Beyond the western hills

And is swallowed by the darkness

It gives life with its benevolent light