(11 May 1934 -November 2022)

Mister Wilson, salt of the earth
a peaceful poet, embarks on rebirth
His charm, his wit, his humble wisdom
We honour now with candle lit
A gardener of words and of the land
May he be led lovingly by the hand
to a place full of foxes and robins
with trees, flowers, and crystal clear waters
May he find there all he loves dearly
As we celebrate his life and see his heart more clearly
Sweet dreams to our dear friend
You are in our hearts, our love we send
❤

Anxiety knocks you for six
can't function when it strikes
I'm looking for a fix
for another fight

Leaves on a sloping grassy bank
appear to look like
an armada of ships
menacingly
travelling along

It's  a  bleak  mid-winters  day.
The  harsh  winter  here  to  stay.

The  shepherd  trudging  in  deep  snow.
Surveying  all  he  sees  below.

He  finds  a  sheep  in  deep  distress.
His  faithful  dog  as  found  the  mess.

She's  been  wounded  on  a  fence.
She's  cold  and  hungry  and  very  tense.

The  shepherd   lifts  her  on  his  back.
And  sets  off  down  the  snowy  track.

The  sight  of  home  is  very  cheery.
As  man  and  beasts  get  very  weary.

Now  in  the  warmth  the  sheep  is  stable.
So  the  man  takes  food  thats  set  on  the  table.

Keith  Wilson.  Windermere.  UK  2016..

It's a wettish day
The flowers are dashed to pieces
A cold wind also

Another hot day
becoming brutal
Everyone is
praying
for rain

Death of my favorite Ash tree
Three men came and cut it down
with ropes and pulleys
they risked life and limb
A perfectly healthy tree
What is going on?
It has changed my view completely

I suppose they still do it
eight o'clock sharp
stamp your card
8:02 you are still alright
8:03 stamped in red
lost fifteen minutes pay
and so on
and so on

A regular 8:03
will have you in the office
for a good telling off

It's absurd!

They isolated me
at the coffee morning

I had a vision
of everything going wrong

I didn't say a word

"There is
a hole in the ozone layer"
they say
Sunshine in the spring
followed by
storms and high humidity
in July and August
Plants are blooming much earlier
Ice is melting
in the Antarctic

Autumn is just around
the corner
quite a lot of rain

The flowers
starting
to die back

Birds sing
quieter now

The breeding season
is over

The sharp blade
came spiralling down
towards the man's
distraught face
causing a spark
on the solid surface
as he fought
to get away.

(Every Tuesday the O'Bheal Poetry competition in Ireland suggests five unrelated words and the contest or challenge is to make a poem from those five words.  On July 9th the five words were:  spiral   blade   spark   distort   surface ).  One can google.....' O'Bheal Five-Word poetry'  competition and submit any poems for an annual contest where the winner travels to Ireland all expenses paid to read their poem at an event.

Is there anything in the theory
that we have had past lives?
I once visited a small town
for the first time
I swore I had been there before
I knew every nook and crannie
This was very strange to me

Tommy was sat in the trenches
trying to write his poetry
but was distracted by the rats
scampering by
all the time

But with all the bullets and shells
and not forgetting the vermin
it was pretty hard
trying to write poetry

I saw the squirrel this morning
swarming up the bird feeder
after the nuts
then he scampered across the lawn
into the bushes
out of sight
Then all the birds came back to the feeder

The storm was raging
Unsubtle changes!
The circumference of the area
was lit up by lightning
flashing down
in the blink of an eye.
All the birds were clustered together
It was quite scary

The  first  snowfall  of  the  winter  as  begun.
Large  fluffy  flakes  chasing  each  other  to  the  ground.
Everyone  rushes  Indoors  as  if  it  was  the  plague.

The  trees  and  bushes  look  fine.
Decked  out  in  their  winter  finery
The  birds  carry  on  regardless.
They  are  such  hardy  souls.

Tomorrow  will  be  the  great  scrape  and  brush.
To  get  things  going  again.

Keith  Wilson.  Windermere.  UK  2016.

The Majestic English Oak
that stands proudly
in the corner of our garden
popular with the squirrels

Oak was used for ship-building
for years
noted for its resistance to water
Ours looks about eighty feet tall
overshadowing
the other trees

Superb!

It seems like a real dream
often better than reality
We wake up to a dreary world
Let's dream on

Nightmares not good
but life can be hell on earth

Headlines in the news today
"Vicar robbed while away at prayer"
His wife had gone to visit their neices
while the burglars nicked their bits and pieces

As he preached peace and understanding
his house was stripped up to the landing
He was said to be sad and disappointed
his service on Christianity disjointed

The masked thugs are now long gone
as police have words with everyone
It really is a sign of the times
they get away with all these crimes

I sat in my garden
having my effervescent
The supercilious lady
said
"Why weren't you at Bingo?"
I said
"It was nonsense"

An eerie mist descends
just above the water level
as daylight begins to fade
All the trees are bare
and the ancient mountains
are stubbornly standing there
All the boats are in shore
having their winter makeover
Odd flickers of light
quickly come and go
adding to the mystery
of those who have perished there
in Lake Windermere

Dark days again
Noisy in here today
resting on the spine of my book
my head's in a spin
making things impossible

Nice drop of rain Wednesday evening
will help the garden flourish
nice crop of Red Skin potatoes
No leeks this year to nourish

Gardens are forward
due to the glorious spring weather
They say bees are dying
affecting pollination
but climbing plants
are making more growth than usual

My poem was trending
as it climbed into space
We'll have to wait
could have a fair chance
of getting
'Poem Of The Day'

Keith.
Keith the gardener, Keith the poet,
Keith with the infectious smile, Keith with the load of worries,
Keith of the lost loves, Keith of the quirky turn of phrase,
Keith who could always come up with a title -
Keith, we shall remember you well.
Hugs all round,
Janet

Not feeling good today
I wish it would all go away
Shaking like a leaf
I hope it's only brief
I just want to sleep
heavy and deep
Could do with some soup
instead I've come down
to the poetry group

What else do you want to know?

The sky is very dark
It's going to rain today
Blustery sharp wind

The tree was eroding
a full length of wood
I had a cup of tea
and listened
to some lyrics

It's sad to say
that Keith's writing skills
of which there were many
have passed away
No more little tales
stories
and poems
So many differents parts of his life
to enjoy, and enjoy
like being a 'Gardener'
falling into hedges
without knowing why
Bless him, wherever he may be

Don't put your plastic
on the beach
The fish think
it's something to eat

One thing about snow
It makes everyone's garden
clean and tidy
Whether
it's been cultivated or not

I can't fathom out
why the spine of the book
has gone rotten
in the middle pages

Perhaps my wife, Grace
can help
when she has finished the orange
she is eating

Dinners doctors
Bingo
Hospitals
and the
Social whirl
No time
for rhyme

They say
"Climbing is the spice of life"
It would be
if we hadn't to carry
all this weight
It seems to be the trend
We will have to wait and see
There seems to be
a fair chance

Heavy rain
this morning
which is
very welcome
after a dry spell
Flowers standing up well
trees are lovely
shades of green
across the far lawn

Spring is officially here
although not the weather, I fear

Plenty of spring flowers in bloom
Summer will be here soon

The birds are chirping away
looking for mates, I would say

The ambulance
outside again
It seems an early morning ritual

I was innocently sat on the straw
in Egypt
under the sun
when a mirage
suddenly appeared
Very vivid!
Then suddenly
it was finite

I've been to doctors, opticians
pharmacy and hospital
All in one week
Hoping next week will be quieter

Do I go or do I stay?
Mainly stay is the right option

Is it really over
Has your love died
Is it the end of the line

Do you not need me
No part of me
Is it really over

Our love once was strong
I thought it was forever
Is it the end of the line

When love was new
I just thought of you
Is it really over

We met in the park
Just before dark
Is it the end of the line

When you were gone
I tried to move on
Is it really over
Is it the end of the line

The neighbours were organizing a street party
right in the middle
of Covid 19
Their closeness took my breath away
and my skin crawled
I had a word with one of them
but they were acting strange
forming a triangle across the street
I finally left
and went back indoors

Weather hot
but cloudy
News headline:
'A bronze statue
has been switched
for a cheaper model'

Wet ground yesterday
Heavy downpour late last night
Dryer this morning

The pretty blackbird
foraging for food
on the big lawn

The Hostas
are flowering
well
this year
don't always do

The last day of summer
I'm looking forward to autumn

I met some Chinese
on my walk today
They seemed lost