God
Of Man,
Woman, Soul,
Thank you for creating me.

You
Called me from sleep
to meet this day,
whatever comes or may.

To
You I offer all
my actions: let them
be done as Thou will.

For
Thy greater glory
keep me from sin
and every evil.

May
Thy Grace be always
with me and all those
dear to me .
Amen.

TOBIAS

So, you think you
are turning into a
packet of biscuits?

Yes, Doctor.

What sort of biscuits?

Square ones, Doctor.

Have they got little
holes in them?

That’s the ones.

You must be Crackers!

TOBIAS

Swifts – Swallows:
joy of late Spring
flashed on their wings:
while a world moved
about their arrival
in slow motion.

Wild, restless, they
dip, weave,  dive
above fields, quarry,
over old hedges sun-
streaked, damp -
dappled. Summer-free.

Autumn: earth’s magnet drew
them away on African odyssey.
Our house was their house:
free-loading our welcome
they leave with their brood..
Will they ever return?

Surely, as instinct.
Now they have gone
desolate Winter fills
the hole those birds
have left in the sky.

TOBIAS

M-ore gentle than the sweetest breeze
   Your breathe unites with mine
A-nd for a while I sense that ease
    Two hearts enjoy when lips combine.

R-arer than the richest stones
    Hid in sea swept caves
Y-our eyes in myriad tones
     My searching gaze enslaves.

O-nce the gods of beauty drew
    Your form to their design
R-aised in love you grew
    To loveliness - dare I that work define?

E-rato, Muse of lyric lays
    And verses of amour
I-nspire me now to praise
    In simple poetry, she whom I adore.

L-ike the sun you
  Warm me
L-ike the moon you
  Charm me.
Y-ou are my Valentine.


TOBIAS

You are sunlight’s glow,
softly melting snow.
Awake from Winter ease.
You are the mild breeze
summoned up to tease  
Spring buds in hosts untold.
their shy blossoms to unfold:
reaching out to Summer’s face
forming fruit in weight apace.
Your escorts - butterfly and bee
silenced by Autumn - now flit
to bush and buzz to tree:
seeking out sunbeams befit
for You and Me.

TOBIAS

I have tried to imagine my world without you:
summer swarming bees, distant Cotswold peaks
hidden in snow. The beauty of autumn mornings
along Blaisdon's remembered country roads;
a sunlit river Severn beyond Westbury, the
whirr of pheasants at spring midday and
the calling of owls towards midnight.

Now I know that none of it is the same
without you. But most of all I will never
forget your smile, your eyes your
gentleness and giving, your loyalty
and caring for old friends: *** Carter,
Frank and Elsie Hogg, in particular.
The memories we treasured, the
enjoyments we shared.

The love is forever there
despite time or distance -
clarified through tears.
So today I celebrate that
you existed; thanking
all of life for your life,
expressing my deepest
gratitude that out of
millions of people
and possibilities
our lives were destined
to be intermingled.

As in sorrow,  I mourn your passing,
I know clearly and forever my world
can never be the same: Without You.

TOBIAS

A fit-looking *****
just out of prison,
called at a house
and asked for help.
“I’m surprised at
a man like you
asking for money!”
said the lady
of the house.

“I’ve got to ask
for it ma’am,”
he replied.
“When I took
it last time,
without asking,
I got six
months inside.”

TOBIAS