The girl with the kite
Didn't have a care
She'd run on the beach
With the wind in her hair
She'd run up hills
Lie in fields of wild flowers
Gazing at the ever changing sky
She would dream for hours

The girl with the kite
Saw faces in the sky
Angels looking down on her
From clouds floating by
She'd hold on so tight
As her kite took flight
She said she'd never let go
Of her beautiful kite

The girl with the kite
Would make daisy chains
She'd pick clover and butter cups
As she walked country lanes
Life was simple
Or it seemed that way
The sun was always shining
When she went out to play

The girl with the kite
Started to grow
She felt under pressure
To let her kite go
Demands were made
For her to achieve and perform
Make her way in the world
Please other people and conform

The girl with the kite
Felt things were going wrong
It was hard growing up
Then a man came along
He played his guitar
He brought a bouquet
As he sang his sweet song
Her kite drifted away

The girl with the kite
Heard his sweet song turn sour
His true colours were shown
As the man used his power,
Manipulation and aggression
To clip her wings
To crush her spirit
To pull her strings

The girl with the kite
Felt she was to blame
For her bad choices
She hid her shame
Kept her sadness a secret
Tried to make things right
Trapped in her world
She lost her self in the fight

The girl with the kite
Wanted to die
She couldn't live any more
She had no kite to fly
She went to the Doctor
Who gave her some pills
They just made her numb
Didn't cure her ills

The girl with the kite
Slept for a decade, or more
Life went on around her
Each day was a chore
She had to wake from the inertia
She had become bereft
When she woke from the dark sleep
She had nothing left

The girl with the kite
Had to start anew
Like a Phoenix from the ashes
She knew she'd pull through
She's found her kite
Found a beach for it to blow
Up to the angels on their clouds
This time, she won't let go

The girl with the kite
Is now a woman, strong and proud
Content to live her life alone
Independent and unbowed
She flies her kite sedately
Life is not a race
She's free to fly it when she wants to
It flies at her own pace

Nicki Tilston.

Let's take a walk mum,
A memory walk,
Down that lane,
That's not the same, to you,
Anymore,

Let's have a talk mum,
A memory talk,
In that lane,
That's not the same, to you,
Anymore,

Let us remember mum,
Remember it all,
That the lane,
Is the same,
Forevermore,

Can you remember me mum,
It's me, your T,
Please remember me,
I'm the same,
I am that lane,

That lane we walked,
That lane where we talked,
That lane filled with love,
Do you remember,
Do you remember,

Let's take a walk mum,
A long, long walk,
And visit your memories,
We will talk,
Along that lane.

Hold onto my wings,
I am your guardian,
I will carry you,
Through the storms of life,
Hold onto my wings,
Let me shelter you from hurt,
I can protect you,
I can envelop you with love,
And keep you warm,
Hold onto my wings,
Let the wind lead us,
Let him take us,
To where we want to be,
Where we can be safe,
We can whisper our stories,
Hold onto my wings.

If you could spend a day with me,
I wonder what we'd do,
Go to see the pyramids,
Or the barrier reef so blue,

Maybe trek the Inca trail,
Or fish the largest seas,
Sit in wild flower meadows,
Or climb sequoia trees,

Make a jungle tree house,
Roll down dunes of sand,
Or tiptoe on the mountain range,
Walking hand in hand,

Visit all the castles,
Relive their history,
Sit on top of the empire state,
Drinking English tea,

Paddle in the paddy fields,
Explore the deepest cave,
Jump in with the great white shark,
Surf  a giant wave,

Ski down mount Everest,
Skydive from a plane,
Cycle down route sixty six,
Dance in the monsoon rain,

If you could spend the day with me,
I know just what we'd do,
Sit and plan a future life,
A life for me and you.

In my dreams,
I walk with you,
I talk with you,
I laugh with you,
But only in my dreams,

In my eyes,
I can see you,
I cry for you,
I'd die for you,
Only in my eyes,  

In my heart,
I ache for you,
I shake for you,
I forsake you,
Only in my heart,

In my life,
There is only you,
Always you,
Forever you,
In my life.

The autumn rain is not the same,
Without you by my side,
The falling leaves and empty trees,
Are pointless now you've died,

The snowy hills brought us such thrills,
But now no footprints tread,
The frozen brook, no second look,
Since you have been dead,

The summer nights and it's delights,
Are cold and dull and grey,
The picnic laughs and photographs,
Like you, gone away,

I await the spring and hope I'll sing,
Our song of love again,
I will not stay another day,
In the autumn rain.

I long for the shade from the old oak tree,
As the sun beats on my brow,
The breeze is gentle yet full of life,
But I don't feel this, somehow,

I remember the first time he brought me here,
On a cold November day,
He said to me, by the old oak tree,
Don't ever go away,

And so a year passed quickly,
And we married after noon,
In the meadow with the old oak tree,
And we danced under the moon,

We had a beautiful loving life,
No children did I bare,
For illness came, it was a shame,
When I lost all my hair,

But he brings me flowers everyday,
And lays down next to me,
He talks and talks, I listen,
Under the shade of the old oak tree,

The view out here is wonderful,
Fields, every colour of green,
The winter snows, by far the best,
That I have ever seen,

He stares at me with loving eyes,
That fill with drops, like rain,
And in his face of weary lines,
I see his heartbreak pain,

I wish I could hold his hand,
And bring him home with me,
But I just wait and long for shade,
Under the old oak tree,

I whisper I'll never leave you,
But he cannot hear or see,
That I am there beside him,
Under the old oak tree.

For a sister so kind with a caring mind,
I could never repay,
For a heart of gold if truth be told,
I'm lost for words to say,

Your always on call, never let me fall,
You catch me every day,
We talk we walk you hold my hand,
I'm stuck for words to say,

Your incredible, we're inseparable,
As sisters should always be,
We're of four and not one more,
So listen here to me,

I wish for you, your dreams come true,
Today and tomorrow to,
Remember this my younger sis,
I always will love you.

She hid behind her coat of red,
It covered all her fears,
She put the hood around her hair,
To mask and hide the tears,

She wore the coat of red so well,
No one noticed, more,
That she was sad, and all alone,
More than she was before,

Until one day, like any other,
Her coat of red so true,
Had somehow unexpectedly,
Turned a beautiful shade of blue,

Now any other day, she would,
Be upset and quite put out,
But she felt a little bit differently,
No more of her self doubt,

She took the coat, that was once red,
She shook and put it on,
She felt a glow of happiness,
All her tears had gone,

The moral of this story,
This moral that I tell,
Is no matter what the colour is,
You can wear it well,

Don't hide behind a coat of red,
Don't let it cover fears,
Don't put the hood around your hair,
Don't mask or hide your tears,

For in this world of rainbow coats,
There are people all the same,
Stop and smile, say hello,
Talk and ask their name,

They could be lonely and so sad,
So stop and make them right,
Make friends, be friends, it's easy,
Be a shining light.

Like a leaf I float on the wind,
Not knowing where I'll go,
I never stay long enough,
To watch the seeds I sow,

Like a leaf I flutter in the air,
Not knowing if I'll land,
If you can try to catch me,
Please hold me in your hand,

Like a leaf laying on the floor,
Without the wind I'll die,
So keep the wind blowing,
So I float into the sky,

Like a leaf being born on the tree,
I grow and grow each day,
I watch, I learn I follow you,
Wherever the wind may play.