Days there are
When I would roam,
‘cross field and meadow,
Far from home;
And smell the earth
Where’er might be
On hillsides, lakesides,
Silently.

And gazing at
The tree-etched skies,
Where colours chase
From side to side,
There is no loneliness
Out there,
With nature’s matching
Stride and stare.

And I would gasp
With free delight
At snow-capped peaks
Or ducks in flight,
At winking stars,
Or sulking moon
That waits for Earth,
A lone bassoon.

Never had I imagined these,
Not even now;
I know not a speck
Of universe ~
Nor how.

When ‘goodbye’ became ‘hello’,
I knew then that our love would grow,
Taking our lives in new directions,
Filling our hearts with sweet reflections

That only we could know.

You were enchanting and still are,
Seeing you from close-up, or from afar.
Something about you that makes me smile,
How do you so beautifully beguile,

That’s what I’ll never know.

Years have flown, days moments in time,
Blessings galore that no poet could rhyme.
You filled my life with such wonderful joy,
No matter at all if we’d had a girl or a boy.

And that’s what I’ll always know.

Trisha and Danny,
With your love so sure.

Sometimes love is like
A whirlwind in the trees.
Sometimes love's a while,
Then scatters to the seas.

But your love,
It shines brightly in your eyes,
It's there for all about to realise,
It's there in both your lows and highs.

Yet you well know that love is more,
It's universal,
Eternal,
The kernel -
It's so old that nothing came before.

Love is the joy that makes us whole,
Love is the truth that fills our soul.
Love is the light that burns inside,
Love is the flame that you can never hide.

Trisha and Danny, recall this day,
Your family, your friends,
Even far away.
Danny and Trisha, recall this time,
May its blessings ne'er end,
May your love be sublime.

There’s a dear old river
Where I love to go,
Oars heaving slowly
As I lean back low.

Rest awhile,
And see the willows
Bow their weeping heads;
Trickling waters make their music,
While clouds become floating beds.

Not even a bird could follow
Those dream-like journeys ~
Of that dear old river and me.

When I was small and very young,
Living in a land of not much sun!,
I used to play nearly every day,
With cousin Jacqui and uncle John,
Down by the sea and the muddy creeks,
Collecting shells, then we’d hide-and-seek.

Sometimes I’d venture on a boat with dad,
Far out to sea and I just a lad.
Once I swam off a forty-foot yacht,
Miles from land but you could see quite a lot.
First I’d tread water then zoom off with a splash,
Back to the stern, making sure not to crash.
And there was my dad –
Oh such fun that we had!

We used to have a border collie,
A flash of black and white
And the trains were soon sorry!
Along the seaside stretch they’d fly –
They were only ever safe at night:
Our Sheba would chase them off “Goodbye”;
Tail uplifted, so full of pride.

Though they’re mostly a haze,
Still I remember the feeling of fun.
Those were the days,
When I was young.