Summer is here
I recognise it in my bones
And in memories
Of muscles
Which have carried me
Through forty eight summers past

Summer is here
And I feel the length of the hours
The lazy feeling of sand, sea and warmth
The quiet longing
For things to stay the same forever
Almost suppressing the urge for new challenges,
Difference and growth

Summer is here
And the flowers shine
Brighter than ever
And bees **** nectar lustily
As birds chat noisily, talking more
Or perhaps our skies have just grown quieter

Summer is here
And it pulls us all along
Like dreamers
Dozing
Atop a floating barge

Each time I think of global stuff
It puts me in a swirl
I arrive back where I started from
Round and round the carousel

I don’t know what is real or not
I’m in a kind of daze
Who knows what the future holds
Or how to navigate this maze

What lies beyond the familiar
Is a future yet described
I need to find my courage
For a brighter picture in my mind

So if I’ve put things off too long
And laid out in the sun
It’s because I just can’t tell you straight
Precisely what should now be done

In a year or two we will reflect
On these years of human struggle
And wonder how we made it through
This man created muddle

I guess it’s all a part of life’s
Great journey that were on
We’d better make the best of things
For soon we’ll all be gone

I see
Children lean
Into those
They love

I observe
Grown bodies turn
To those
In their care

Protective energy
Surrounds the young
Embracing them
Nurturing them

And in that security
Young lives
Grow
And flourish

Down by the riverside
Where the reeds lean with the current
Along empty bridlepaths through fields ready for harvest
Past the deserted church and into the orchard
Beyond the ancient oak and through the hedgerows
Is the green and most fair Essex

Death happens every day
From the smallest insect
To the most giant of all beasts
Death happens every day

We live our lives
As if we will all live forever
Carry on taking it all for granted
Carrying on until

One day, a friend dies
And everything stops
And somehow takes on
A different meaning

At least for a while
At least for a while

We stop, we gather
We think and feel differently
We cry, we remember, we pray, we sleep,
Strangely exhausted from our grief

And then we return to life
Back to our routine
Back to being surrounded by
Thousands of deaths, insignificant to us, invisible to us

Yet we should remember
That one day we will be gone,
As will all of those around us
And that means something to everyone

What does a poet see
That others do not?

What discoveries do they make
By returning faithfully to the page?

What meaning do they convey
Through ordering words for us to read

What do they see
That others do not?

The monster has wild eyes and crazy hair
The monster spits angry shouts and beats violent fists
The monster tears up books and smashes houses
The monster runs through the streets howling obscenities

But

Underneath
There is a child who wants to learn
A child who wants to grow
A child who values peace and friendship
A child who values love