Somewhere in my mind,
Was something to be found,
Not on the surface,
No digging would surround.
It came out of nowhere,
As I passed the glass,
Peering at a turquoise stone,
A golden broach it did enhance;
It was my mother's moonstone,
A family heirloom,
Embellished with gold filigree,
And attached by a chain.
The Islamic pendant,
On display at the museum,
Sent me backwards on a journey,
To discover you it seemed.

On the way home I thought of Proust,
Tasting the Madeline, tea soaked,
The pleasure it did give me,
To remember times past,
And the fingers of Mother's hand,
Gently do up the clasp.

Love Mary **

She sits as only little girls do
Playing with the ends of her hair
Watching the boats come in
And go out
On the choppy Solent waves.
The shingle is wet glass
And clouds form playful shapes.
Looking behind she sees her father
Smiling as he carries dripping lollies
To console a sunless afternoon.

He reaches the promenade
With its concrete *****
Balancing feet without sight
He slowly walks towards her.
She senses his vulnerability
Love pours out
Soaking her dress with spray
As she moves
To help him
Those last few steps.

Love Mary

That happiest moments come in childhood
When innocence combed ones hair
And Saturdays bring respite
Bedrooms lined with a few toys
While two fair ground ballerinas
Curtesy on a white wood mantelpiece.

Then that snuggling down to sleep
Under homemade feather eiderdown
Hot lemon and sugar brought in a glass
The certainty of mother's voice
Climbing the stairs with wine gums.

Even if time stretched patience
It arrival brought only surprises
And leaf rubbings on paper
Were treasured achiements
Displayed in cardboard mounts.

Love Mary x

Oh poet of the moonlight stars
Wondering up into darker space
Searching for gallaxies of stars
Jupiter and Mars.
You're out in the cold
For hours and hours
With your binoculars
I'm all tucked up in our bed
Long asleep
While you're afar
My beautiful traveller of the stars.

Love Mary ***

Find a Daisy and pick it up
From garden fronts
The gathering begins
A few leaves on a stem, fluttering,
Snap!
And in a pocket lays
Side by side
To a thread of black eyed germanium
And thé peppery seeds of aquilegias
Falling into seam corners,
Creeping up pathways
Hollyhock rings put in
And then take a chance
With stem of pink pearly,
Ceanothus.
Collection complete for Monday
Trot home to find compost
Then *** up in the sun.
My little treasures from
The free world .

Love Mary **

Out of the door past the flowering Camelia
And barely bursting rose buds
The white hellebores with their
Down turned eyes
And swaying narcissus
I run to catch them all
As they scatter the road
With their dancing
Tripping in and out of rhythm
With each other
Throwing ***** across
To catch,
The wind gathers them up
To the park entrance
Our lovely park
Green with many trees
I reach them at last
We float down the avenue
Linking arms with
A child's pleasure
We are here
All together
Forever.

Love Mary **

I think this is why you came to my room
On a sudden impulse that I would be there
Waiting for the person I needed but never said
The quiet brown bird with songs in his head
And you came because you saw in this child
A woman to grow your children and be a friend
The room was empty and the flowers gone
On the piano was your music I wanted to hear
Played softly with a warm heart and a longing
To stay.

I feel you slip in beside me
We sleep as two curled
Cashew halves
Sitting inside each other
Naked flesh close, embedded
In a permanence of love.

Love Mary ***

When you come into this world
Surrounded by so much love
Welcomed by your family
With kisses and hugs,
I am sorry I can't be there
To see your darling face
Or know that newborn baby
Scent that lingers after birth.

To watch you have a first bath
Those tiny limbs that splash
And take a brush to your hair
Stroke the roundness of your head,
May the flowers be your friends
The trees shelter you
And know that I love you so
Even though I missed you .

Love Grandma Mary xxxx

Daisy got up early
Just as the day began
Clipped in her earrings
Combed her brown hair
Put on the clothes
At the bottom of the bed
Looked in the mirror, quickly,
Then went and got fed.
The breakfast room was cosy
All the family there
They all shared cornflakes
Burnt toast in the air
Then time for coat on
And run up the road
Working for the people
The ones she does not know
A good person is Daisy
Found what she's about
Writing gave her a mission
To fight others' plight.


Love Grandma ***

Oh to trudge up the lane
In the heat of the sun
Keeping to the near side edge
To face on coming cars
I would the wildest flowers, pick,
Hold them in my hand
Wrap around a handkerchief
With an embroidered band.

As the upward ***** straightened
A bungalow came into view
With my mother's gardening shoes
And a flower *** or two
How I loved this moment
My heart turned to glee
All my inside whispered
Soon be here with thee.

Love Mary your daughter **

Standing by the fridge
We could see the roses
In a flower bed
Beneath the kitchen window.

We took to tidying
The cupboard, together,
Where the contents had grown
Hard and dusty with time.

The roses were transplanted
From a London home
Finding leaving her garden sad
So carried them with her in a van.

We made pizzas for tea
Using a simple base recipe
Adding tomatoes and chives
Topped with grated cheese.

In the flower bed the three
Roses, fed, pruned and watered
Cleared of greenfly with soapy water
Flourished and bloomed in the sun.


Love Mary for her mother Grace Westbrook

Everytime I try a little harder I know it is you
A voice deep and melodious
Who whistled many tunes
A man born in poverty
A father who was strapped
A bedroom where you slept
Always back to back
You whom I always trusted
Who gave my mother love
Brought me up a good person
To value truth and love
I never made it to the Gods
And sat in the stalls
But the hay was humble
You gave me it all.

Thank you my dear Dad, Eric William Henry Ayton-Robinson.
Love your daughter Mary x