BENEATH THE DUSKY GREY SKY

 

Beneath the dusky grey sky

Of low scudding clouds,

The ambient air was damp

Blown in from the west

On the same storm fed wind

That chased the clouds

Across the autumn sky

DAWN

 

The distant mountains

Pale in the mist

Reach up to the sky like children

Waiting to be kissed

 

As the sun comes slowly into view

It turns the vast sky blue

Birds awaken bright as the day

As if to chase the night away

STORM FRONT

 

The gulls screech and scream

Swooping above the cliff top

On the waves below white horses ride

As the tide surge is broken to a stop

 

Fishing boats appear to dance

Driven by the weather to the south

They make slow progress in the swell

As they bob towards the harbour mouth

 

As the weather quickly closes in

The gulls desert the cliff top

Making their way inland to safety

Waiting patiently for the storm to stop

SUNLIGHT DANCING

 

Bright sunlight dances across the open water

Glinting like diamonds in the soft march winds

The surface occasionally broken by rising fish

Far-reaching ripples expand as a splash rescinds

 

Without warning the morning peace is shattered

The silence broken by breeding ducks in a brace

Flying and gliding effortlessly in perfect harmony

Until clumsily hitting the water with a lack of grace

 

An intruder and his dog appears on the lakeside path

The alarm is raised by geese honking frantically

Adult swans noisily adopt their defensive stance

Huge wings out-spanned and charge dramatically

 

The once tranquil scene is lost in a cacophony 

All the nesting wildfowl have now been alerted

The intruder and his dog disappear along the path

The peace returns now the danger has been averted

 

Bright sunlight again dances across the water

Glinting like diamonds in the soft march winds

The surface occasionally broken by rising fish

Far-reaching ripples expand as a splash rescinds

SUMMER GARDEN

 

Suspended Baskets Spill Scented Color

Gently Swinging In The Summer Breeze

Pollen Drifts Unseen in the Fragrant Air

Causing Sufferers to Cough and Sneeze

 

Maids Scantily Clad In Pastel Colors

Girls Wearing Little to Keep Them Cool

Scanty Outfits Set Men’s Pulses Racing

The Men Who Watch Sit Back and Drool

 

Men in Shorts Wear Socks with Sandals

Middle-aged Women Dressed Up As Lamb

Deciding To Satisfying Their Appetite

Eating Sandwiches of Cheese and Ham

 

Lunch Consumed and Glasses Emptied

The Drink Is Drunk So No More Boozing

Homeward Now They Make Their Way

To End the Day by Dozing or Snoozing

 

Babies Asleep in Buggies or Prams

Children Laugh From Slide and Swings

The Garden Full Of Carefree Chatter

Roaring Trade Till the Last Bell Rings

BIRD ON A REED

 

A reed moves

Under a birds meagre weight

The reed disturbs the calm water

Ripples echo outwards

Across the lake

Flat calm on a balmy eve

Each ripple expands out

And with each inch it grows

It stretches and diminishes

Until it is no more

Until another bird settles

On another reeds stem

CAUGHT IN A STORM

 

The sky blackened     

Dark as night

Then comes the flash

Of a Lightning strike

As the storm ensued

Panic struck me

Thunder rattled overhead

I fell upon me knees

I prayed to God

Spare me this day

I prayed to God

To chase the storm away

Then the skies lightened

And silence was all around

A gentle rain fell

As I raised from the ground

Then everywhere about me

Cherry blossoms blew

Like gentle pink snow

And immediately I knew

You had heard my prayer

You had protected me

You where there in every petal

Of that cherry blossom tree

PASSING BY

 

Way up high

In the sky

Clouds pass by

I wonder why

On a bright day

Some might say

I see the milky way

Indeed they may

Way up then

Near to heaven

I shall know when

Clouds pass again  

GOOSED

 

The snow geese

In a massive flock

Take flight in unison

Filling the whole sky

Like clouds of white smoke

Billowing up from unseen fires

Rippling across the sky

As far as the eye can see

Almost blocking out the sun

So begins the migration

THE GOLDEN ORB

 

The golden orb

Burning orange

Set slowly

Beyond the distant hills

As it slid slowly down

It painted the hills

In rainbow hues

Back lighting the tree line

Highlighting them boldly black

Showing them in stark relief

Against the crimson sky

As it was finally swallowed

By the western horizon

The sky was tinged with pink

Before darkness was everywhere

NIGHT OWL

 

The graceful owl

Hunts at twilight

And listens to hear

A victim in the night

Then swoops down

In silent flight

Not to prevent

Its prey taking fright

But fear of losing

What is out of sight

WATER WAY

From the mountain high

On the summit icy

It begins to trickle

Toward its destiny

Trickle becoming stream

Very quickly

Its method brilliant

In its simplicity

It follows the path

Of least resistance

In its great race

To go the distance

Growing ever stronger

Under gravity

Deeper wider

And ever more rapidly   

A great river now

Heading for its destiny

And it’s fulfilled

When reaching the sea

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 natures golden gown

OCTOBERNESS

Misty mornings

Start dim and dismal

Penetrating Dampness

Seeping into your bones

Some days it brightens later

Enough for shirtsleeves

Then when darkness falls

Curtains are drawn

At the months beginning

Grass is still growing green

The trees are well covered still

Then leaves turn green to yellow

Yellow is burnished to gold

Gold to burning red

Then red to earth

Beyond the equinox

Days have already become

More dark than light

Before the clocks fall back

And the sun sets sooner

Days of sunshine deceive

Sheltered pockets warm and confuse the senses

In the later days

When the residual warmth diminishes

The bite remains

To herald worse to come   

GOLDEN HARVEST

 

The autumn leaves fall

Like flakes of gold

Drifting to earth like surreal snow

In the golden harvest

As they fall, they dance

Wildly in the breeze

To autumns tune

Before coming to rest

Then on peaceful mornings

They gather in the quiet corners

That pepper the autumn landscape

Cast like a threadbare cloak

Spread by mother nature’s hand

And in the misty morn

The golden harvest

Lays deep and undisturbed

Like collected thoughts

In the corners of my mind

The watery sun slowly burns away the mist

And illuminates the October landscape  

Before the wind disturbs the peace

And chases the leaves away

Scattering them like my dreams

AS THE EVENING LIGHT FADES

 

As the evening light fades

The sky takes on a twilight hue

Until the stars appear above

And the moon comes into view

THE FADING LIGHT OF THE EVENING

 

The fading light of the evening

Mirrors the slow diminishing

Of my own dwindling light

As we both head towards the night

THE HEATHERS CLOAK THE HILLSIDE

 

The Heathers cloak the hillside

And Buttercups dot the meadow

The Bluebells carpet the woods

And Orchids pepper the hedgerow

In an understatement of radiance

Where the wild flowers grow

THE SURREY HILLS

 

I walked along a hill top path

With my old dog Jake

Beneath a cloudless sky of azure blue

The path led us into a sparsely wooden copse

Its leafy canopy defused the strong sun

And provided welcome shade

I decided to rest a while in the cool shadows

I slipped off my back pack

And sat against a trees trunk

I wiped the sweat from my brow

Before taking a bottle from my pack

I poured water into a bowl for Jake

And took a generous swallow for myself

Then I lit my pipe and relaxed

In an aromatic cloud and enjoyed the scene

Specks of sunlight dappled the ground

And midges danced around the sunbeams

As Jake chased the shadows

The time came to move along

And we followed the path back into the sun

And onward along the ridge

After a long slow crawl up the ever steepening path

We reached the summit and were duly rewarded

To see the countryside stretching far to the south

Spread like a great patchwork quilt

This perfect view from the Surrey hills

BENEATH THE LEAFY CANOPY

 

Beneath the leafy canopy

Moonlight pierced the darkness

And shafts of lunar light

Like a brilliant laser show

Illuminated the forest floor

BENEATH THE FOREST CANOPY

 

Beneath the forest canopy

In the Emerald darkness

Of the ancient wood

It was refreshingly cool

But shadow soon gave way

To the dappled shade

Where the sun pierced

The leafy veil

Littering the floor

With Golden discs of light

And when the forest thinned

We came upon a Deer

Grazing in a forest glade

IN THE EUROPEAN FORESTS

 

In the European forests

The wild boar can be vicious

But it’s worth the risk

As they’re bloody delicious

WISPS OF WHITE

 

Wisps of White

Decorate the azure blue

Like absent minded stokes

Of an artist’s brush

While the sun bathes the land

With its benevolence

AT DR DOOLITTLE’S ANIMAL CLINIC

At Dr Doolittle’s animal clinic

The Animals do the lot

The chief vet is a Labrador

Assisted by a dog called spot

 

But it’s not a cheap option

With extra charges of all sorts

For PET scans and Polly grams

Cat scans and Lab reports

BECALMED

 

We sat becalmed on the cold ocean

I wished to see the waters move

But they remained mirror flat

Still as a silent thought

Lost in the absent echo

As we remained motionless

Beneath a relentless sun

WHITE AS LUNAR LIGHT

 

White as Lunar light

Moonshine birds fly lonely skies

Where echoes can’t be heard

A PAIR OF MONKEYS

 

As two monkeys were getting into the bath

The first monkey had prepared for them

And the second one said: “Oo, oo, aah, ahh”

The first retorted “Put some cold in then”

WHY DO GORILLAS HAVE FAT FINGERS

 

Why do Gorillas have fat fingers?

Is one question that still lingers

But clearly the obvious conclusion

Is large nostrils are the reason

BUTTERFLIES ONLY LIVE FOR ONE DAY

 

Butterflies only live for one day

My wife told me with surprise

I said it was a myth, but she said

“No, it’s definitely a butterfly”

I USED TO HAVE A TINY LIZARD

 

I used to have a tiny Lizard

He was really small and cute

I used to call him Tiny,

Because he was “my newt”

I TRIED MY HAND AT FORTUNE TELLING

 

I tried my hand at fortune telling

Using an old snow globe

And I became very good at predicting

Really cold winters