When kids all got in the bath together
or used the same water one after the other
When kids wore hand me downs whenever
clothes got too small for a sister or brother
Remember...
When kids actually ventured outside to play
with their friends the whole day long
Not play with gadgets in their room all day
which seems both unnatural and wrong.
Remember...
When kids actually did what they were told
well… most of the time anyways.
When they were actually punished if they were bold
and were not long about mending their ways
Remember...
When kids treated their elders with some respect,
took heed of what they had to say;
When the last thing any adult would expect
was to get cheek from kids anyway.
Remember...
When kids did not simply just get their own way
(have parents taken leave of their senses?)
when kids had basic rules they had to obey
or face the consequences
Remember...
When kids got what they wanted when you could,
but had everything they needed
When No was a word every kid understood
and a word they heeded.
Remember...
When kids did not expect to be handed everything;
they knew stuff had to be earned.
Kids doing chores, around the house working  
How else would they have learned?
Remember...
The last thing kids need is to be spoiled rotten,
it does them no favours at all
We were not spoiled, or have you forgotten;
And it did us no harm at all.

After the moment of my death,
When I have taken my last breath,
Will there be those who mourn for me?
Who will grieve my passing sadly?  
Those who cherish my memory?
In whose hearts I will always be?

My dying wish is only that
Beyond words in an epitaph,
I be thought of once in a while
and draw a tear or cause a smile,
That some always remember me
should be my lasting legacy.

For those whom I now leave behind
I pray that life will treat you kind,
That you live your lives to the full
for Life can be so wonderful.
Your guardian angel I shall be
from now for all eternity.

The mist meanders through the copse
Beside the bridge over the brook,
Where both daffodils and snowdrops
Emerge everywhere one looks.
Watched over by weeping willows
Amongst other old ancient trees
A babbling brook gently goes
Winding through woods and valleys.
Further and further, on it flows
Below bridges both old and new,
Meanders through fields and meadows
Blanketed by the morning dew.

All through an awakening park
Warmed now by a weak winter sun
Night creatures leave only their mark,
Bedding down now day has begun.
Silence surrenders to bird song
A sure sign that day is dawning
Lo and behold before too long
Casts of creatures greet the morning.
Dawn gives way to a brand new day
Leaving a slight sense of sorrow
As magic moments slip away;
A different dawn tomorrow.

Are not all of us human?
Do not each one of us bleed?
Despite race or religion,
gender, colour or creed.
Does ones nationality,
****** orientation,
Or ones disability
Make them less of a person?

Are not all of us children,
Some ones daughter or son?
Does not each one of us mean
So very much to someone?
We are all so different
So unique and wonderful
Who have from the first moment
Lived our lives to the full.  

Can one life be more precious?
Mean less than any other?
What gives any one of us
The right to **** another?
No, nothing can justify
Killing of our fellow man
No matter how hard we try
Not one of us really can

For life is a gift given
Not by either you or I
It is not our decision
Who should live and who should die.
Who are we to pass judgement
On how other people live?
We must be more tolerant,
Must learn to live and let live

The sad skeletal remains
of once magnificent trees
stand scattered on the terrain
as far as the eye can see.
Soaked by snow, sleet and rain,
Blown bare by cold winds each one;
Frozen time and time again,
Warmed by a weak winter sun.
Branches like bony fingers
Protruding towards the skies
Where birds like deaths harbingers
Lament with long lonely cries.

Gliding gracefully across the night sky
Inevitably earth bound
A solitary star succumbs and dies
Devoid of any discernible sound.

Slipping silently from way on high
Falling freely toward a fatal tryst
Burning brightly for the blink of an eye
Soon sadly ceasing to exist.

A hazy sun low in a cloudless sky
Of the most wonderful shade of blue
The only evidence of a cool night gone by
Lies in a blanket of sparkling dew.

Cobwebs glisten in the morning suns rays
Like diamonds in delicate lace
Silky trails sparkle where snails made their way
Sunlight capturing each delicate trace.

A stillness apparent in unmoving trees
Casting long shadows everywhere
Undisturbed by even the softest breeze
As a crisp coolness pervades the air.

Magpies, pigeons, and crows take flight
the first slow stirrings of the morning
Each one welcoming the morning light,
The sunshine bright and warming.  

Leaves of yellow, red, brown and gold
Reflect gloriously the morning sun
Creatures stirring, growing ever more bold
As another Autumn day has begun.