MY FAVOURITE TIME OF DAY

 

It’s my favourite time of day

Is 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

 

My favourite time of day

Boasts awe inspiring displays

Whether over the open sea,

Beyond 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 special time, a magical time

It’s my favourite time of day

When the sun sets

DON’T LOOK UP

 

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

THE CREATURES OF THE INSECT WORLD

 

The creatures of the insect world

Are not known for their comeliness

However, the collective noun for

A group of Ladybirds is a loveliness

I REALLY LOVE A RAINY DAY

I really love a rainy day

As I am a Pluviophile

So, walking in the rain

Is definitely my style 

IN THE QUIET OF THE NIGHT

 

In the quiet of the night

As peaceful silence reigns

I hear an angel singing

And I wonder if it’s you

 

Amidst the dawn chorus

When birds are centre stage

I hear an angel singing

And I consider if it’s you

 

When the wind is in the trees

Swirling in the breeze

I hear an angel singing

And I think it might be you

 

When the rain cascades,

Falling from the heavens

I hear an angel singing

And I’m sure it must be you

 

When the sun brightly shines

And I feel it warm my skin

I hear an angel singing

And I believe it maybe you

 

At the setting of the sun

When another day is done

I hear an angel singing

And I know that it is you

THE 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, while

Un-germinated seeds bide their time

Until nature smiles once more

On this harsh and arid land

SKELETAL TREES STRIPPED BARE

 

Skeletal trees stripped bare

Dressed now in ice and frost

As they shiver in the wind

Longing for the summer lost

A PICTURESQUE VALLEY SCENE

 

A picturesque valley scene

Like a fairyland of pure delight

Viewed through a window

To avoid the winter’s bite

SCENE THROUGH FROSTED GLASS

 

In the sheltered winter lowlands

Every inch and acre

Are dusted white, almost as if

Sugared by a cake decorator

AS THE STORM FRONT CLOSES IN

 

As the storm front closes in

The Gulls desert the cliff top

To find safe haven deep inland

And wait for the storm to stop

THE FISHING BOATS BOB AND DANCE

 

The fishing boats bob and dance

Driven by weather to the south

Making slow progress in the swell

As they approach the harbour mouth

ON THE EDGE OF A STORM

 

Swooping Gulls screech alarms

High above the cliff top

As white horses ride the waves below

And the tide is broken to a stop

THE FAMILY PORTRAIT

 

My face has been washed clean

And my hair is the best it’s been

So I must smile and not fidget

For the annoying photographer twit

But when he asks “where’s the birdie”

I will frown and look surly

ROMANCE BY THE SHORE

 

Walking together, hand in hand,

As we strolled across wet sand

The sun sets, as the day grows old

Turning silver seas to shining gold.

We continue our walk in twilight

Before the moon illuminated the night

And the stars adorned the heavens

But the sea breeze soon freshens

And surf moved higher up the shore

So, we headed back home once more

FROM THE ICY SUMMIT

 

From the icy summit

Of the mountain high

It begins to trickle,

Toward its destiny,

Trickle becomes rivulet

Rivulet into stream

Gathering momentum

Descending quickly

Its method brilliant

In its simplicity

Following the path

Of least resistance

On its purposeful descent

Growing ever stronger

In the great race

To its destination

Influenced by gravity

As it powers on

Ever deeper, ever wider

Ever more rapidly   

To form great rivers

Heading for their destiny

Which is fulfilled

When reaching the open sea

CACOPHONIC CHORUS

 

As if to chase the night away

And herald the dawn’s arrival

Birds awaken bright as the day

With the cacophonic chorus

Before the sun comes into view

To turn the sky from black to blue

THE MAJESTIC DISTANT MOUNTAINS

 

The majestic distant mountains,

Timeless sentinels, pale in the mist

Reach up to the sky like children

Expectantly waiting to be kissed

IN THE GLOW OF FIRELIGHT

 

In the glow of firelight        

I admire the stark beauty

Of the winter landscape

Beyond the frosty panes

Safe by the cosy fireside

WINTER MAGIC

 

Under the star filled winter sky

Moonlight illuminates the vale

Magically glinting on Icicles

And the crystals of icy rime

WHITE VALLEY

 

Viewed through frosted panes

The valley was bathed in moonlight

And like a ribbon of pure white silk

The road crossed the silent scene

HYMENOPTERA VILLAIN

 

Insects are dangerous

That we all know

Some kill you quick

Some kill you slow

Some poison the blood

In your arteries

One particular specimen

Is the hepatitis bee

THROUGH THE MISTY DAWNING

 

Through the misty dawning

Of a crisp autumn morning

Like emerging from a dream

Amidst the haunting scene

I spy Pheasants in the frost

And in the moment, I am lost

UNDER AUTUMNAL SKIES

 

Under autumnal skies

The suns strength diminishes

With each passing day

And foliage turns slowly

From green to gold

To red, to brown

Before fluttering to earth

Where autumn breezes

Make them dance

To the seasons song

But dancing turns to fury

When breeze turns to raging storm

And autumn windfalls

Are sent swirling

As if caught

In a frenetic snow globe

Though the lucky ones

Escape the chaos

Being driven on the wind

Into quiet corners

Or beneath hedgerows

The rest whirl like dervishes

Hither and thither

Until the rains

Turn them to mush under foot

OCTOBER

 

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

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

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

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

THE MIGHTY OAK LAY BROKEN

 

The mighty oak lay broken

In the wake of the storm

And I am deeply saddened

For as a boy I climbed

Its mighty steadfast trunk

And sat amongst its limbs

Sheltering beneath its canopy

As generations of small boys

Had done many times before me

But then I saw an acorn

On the ground beside my feet

So, I picked it up and smiled

And took it home with me

So, I could grow his son

SPRINGTIME IN THE WOOD

 

Though winter snow still lies

In the wood’s bluebells grow

Appearing like sapphire jewels

Through the thawing snow

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

FOOTSTEPS IN THE FROST

 

A beautiful winter’s morning

When mist conceals the sunrise,

And nestles between

The frosty shadows of the trees,

And footsteps crunch

Through the crystal patterns

Of the crisp hoar frost

NOCTURNAL

 

Nocturnal creatures scurry

And bats take flight

As the owl stands sentinel

Over a woodland night

WATERY WORLD

 

In a river, barely worthy of the name,

Where the gentle water trickles back

Towards a greater watery world,

Lives the humble little stickleback

IN A COUNTRY LANE

 

In a country lane

Where the noise of a highway

Is thought too fanciful

A wagon carries bales of hay

As the farmer heads home

At the end of the day

BENEATH THE GREY SKIES

 

Beneath the grey skies

In the crisp morning air

An overconfident fox

Chases after a march Hare

AN OAK

 

An Oak, tall as a cathedral spire

Cast a mighty shadow

As the setting of the sun

Turns the western sky to fire

A CAVE

 

A cave, in the face of the cliff

Like a mouth, wild and mad,

Snarling like a demon

Across the barren land

From where a wind blew

Into the cavernous mouth

and howled like a Ghost

Calling out in despair

THE FIERCE SPRING GALES

 

 

The fierce spring gales
Howl all through the night
Whipping up the seas
And turning wave tops white
The poor souls at sea
On the dark spring night
In the teeth of the tempest
Feel it’s savage bite
And pray to their gods
To save them from their plight
As the gale blows through
On the dark spring night

THE FIERCE WINTER GALES

 

 

The fierce winter gales
Howl all through the night
Whipping up the seas
And turning wave tops white
The poor souls at sea
On the dark winter night
In the teeth of the tempest
Feel it’s savage bite
And pray to their gods
To save them from their plight
As the gale blows through
On the dark winter night

THE FIERCE SUMMER GALES

 

 

The fierce summer gales
Howl all through the night
Whipping up the seas
And turning wave tops white
The poor souls at sea
On the dark summer night
In the teeth of the tempest
Feel it’s savage bite
And pray to their gods
To save them from their plight
As the gale blows through
On the dark summer night

IN THE DEWY AUTUMN MEADOW

 

In the dewy autumn meadow

I watch the dawn’s first rays

Beginning to evaporate the mist

In the majesty of Autumn days

IN THE FROST FILLED MEADOW

 

In the frost filled meadow

I watch the dawn’s first rays

Beginning to melt the frost

In the majesty of winter days

IN THE DEWY WINTER MEADOW

 

In the dewy winter meadow

I watch the dawn’s first rays

Beginning to evaporate the mist

In the majesty of winter days

IN THE DEWY SUMMER MEADOW

 

In the dewy summer meadow

I watch the dawn’s first rays

Beginning to evaporate the mist

In the majesty of summer days

IN THE DEWY SPRING MEADOW

 

In the dewy spring meadow

I watch the dawn’s first rays

Beginning to evaporate the mist

In the majesty of the spring days

HEAVEN SENT APRIL SHOWERS

 

Heaven sent April showers

Will bring the May flowers

And after spring has begun

Soon comes the summer sun

AS THE LENGTHENING DAYS WARM UP

 

As the lengthening days warm up

When the north is on the cusp

The ice begins to speak or sing

Heralding the arrival of spring

SWEET MEMORIES OF OUR CHILDHOOD # 2

 

Sweet memories of our childhood

Sunny days bright and pleasant

Cold crisp Novembers on the heath

Beating the bracken for the Pheasant

SWEET MEMORIES OF OUR CHILDHOOD # 1

 

Sweet memories of our childhood

Those days of youth were the best

Golden Septembers in the fields

Gathering the bounty of the harvest

BEYOND THE SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAINS

 

Beyond the snow-capped mountains

A brand new dawn breaks

Night moved onward into light

Across the land and the lakes

IN SHADES OF RED AND ORANGE

 

In shades of red and orange

The sky burns with fire

Clouds in sunset are illuminated

Like smoke in a funeral pyre

AS STREAKS OF GOLD APPEAR IN THE WESTERN SKY

 

As streaks of gold appear in the western sky

I look into her hypnotic green eyes and sigh

With her in my arms and romance in my heart,

As the sunset glowed, I vowed we’d never part

THE RED RIVER OF THE SOUTH

 

The Red River of the south

Gains it name

From the red-bed country

Of its watershed

Where it rises on the slopes

Of the Llano Estacado mesa

In two branches to flow east

From the Texas Panhandle

It acts as the border between

Texas and Oklahoma

Before entering Arkansas

And winds its way across

The arid lands of the Great Plains

And flows into Louisiana

Bound for the Mississippi

PERCHED ON THE APPLE BOUGHS

 

Perched on the Apple boughs

The Finches sing a song to please

A song carried on the air, with

The scent of blossom on the breeze

SUMMER SQUALL

 

The sky is grey and dark

Defying the sun to appear

Then the wind picks up

And thunder is getting near

Rain follows with lightning

Flashes that strike fear

And preludes the thunder

So loud it deafens the ear

But then its passes on

And the skies are clear

IDYLLIC VISION

 

Walking the rugged paths and lanes

Over hill and vale, through field and wood

Past timbered cottages with thatched roofs

And white picket fences and wishing wells

Ending at a country pub with low oak beams

And brasses decorating the walls

Such is my idyllic vision of a country walk

FLITTING AND FLUTTERING

 

The sunshine dances

On butterfly wings

As they flit and flutter

Never still, never pausing

As they in turn dance

To natures gentle tune 

THE SUNRISE WAS A GLOWING RED

 

The sunrise was a glowing red

As the day began frostily

Beneath the clear skies

But those skies turned grey

As the days early promise faded

Along with the light

What was clear however

Was that rain was on the way

Maybe even hill snow

But it was equally possible

That the sky will become blue again

And for some the sun may return

WHEN WE WERE KIDS, WE DIDN’T GO

 

When we were kids, we didn’t go

Sledging and tobogganing

Going down the hill on a tin tray

Was more our kind of thing

LIFE WAS MUCH SIMPLER WHEN I WAS A BOY

 

Life was much simpler when I was a boy

And I often look back now that I’m a man

Like when the first significant snow came,

And we built the world’s biggest snowman

Well maybe not the biggest one built, but

The biggest that seven year old children can

AFTER THE ICE QUEENS BITTER TOUCH

 

After the ice queens bitter touch

Fountains cascaded no more,

Waterfalls become inanimate

And you cannot avoid her winter bite

Driving snow falls upon frost and ice

And the world feels her bitter chill

For a hundred years or more

WHEN WE WERE KIDS, WE WOULD GO

When we were kids, we would go

Out in the freshly fallen snow

And have a massive snowball fight

Doing battle till the enemy took flight