The salt marshes and mud flats
And a nice sea breeze
Lots of flowers
Lots of colours shapes and sizes
Prickly ones spiky ones round ones
Red Begonias
It was nice being on the seashore
We've been there several times before

I can float like a boat
And swim like a fish
But I cannot live in the sea
The land where I can stand
Is meant for me
Whose land?
Will it be?

Maggie Sorbie  Sept 25th 2016

Sitting facing the
Lounge window
At Bingo
It had been a hot September day
Then it started to rain
Pouring down
And the sky became a pale pink
And the leaves a bronze brown
A beautiful moment
Captured by my mind in time

As autumn turns into winter
And the sun is low in the sky
It is hard to believe
The beautiful color
As the last leaves fall
From the trees

When I see
a forget-me-not
it makes me think

Technology
is still
Double
Triple
and
Quadruple
Dutch
to me

A drop of rain in the summertime
when the climate is hot
makes a blackbird sing
and petals of the flower open
for which my wifi isn't necessary

Some people notice autumn
by the flowers dying down

Some people notice autumn
by flocks of birds flying 'round

Some people notice autumn
from the chill in the air

Some people notice autumn
when the trees become bare

Some people notice autumn
when leaves change colours on trees

Some people notice autumn
when their bodies begin to freeze

Breathtaking
Autumn view
Like being on top
Of the world
Magical
Neanderthal
The stone circle
Resonating
Spectacular
Invigorating
Fresh mountain air

The ground is damp
The sky is blue
The blackbird,
Could it really be nestbuilding
In November?

Outside my windowpane
It started to rain
Like a curtain descending
It grew dark
I thought: 'It will soak the ground
And freshen the air
For miles around'
'Then'
As suddenly as it had started
It stopped
The sky colors changing hue
As the bright sun
Came back through
There must be a rainbow out there
Somewhere
Outside my windowpane

Maggie Sorbie  June 26th 2016

A month after
our mother's ninetieth birthday
and a month before
my older sister
comes to Grasmere
to visit
we went to see
My daughters
Yoga Dragon Studio
In Lancaster
and it was truly wonderful
A quiet place
Light airy and spacious
Lord  Shiva dancing
and looking down
on yoga mats and
various sizes of
singing bowls
which were played
by my five -year-old
grandaughter
I was delighted to see
what my daughter
achieved

I spy bluebells in March, I think
The white snowdrops are wilting
And the yellow daffodils are blooming
As are the crocuses
In beautiful shades of purple and yellow
There is warmth in the sun
That my body welcomes
I have missed this

And you can tell it’s spring
When the birds are nesting
And the bees are buzzing
And the flowers are blooming
There is warmth in the sun
As we welcome it back here
To our hemisphere


Maggie      March 2016

There were birds and there were bees
There were flowers and there were trees
Blowing in the breeze
There were brightly-coloured male pheasants
With sharp beaks
And camouflaged female pheasants
On the ground, all around
There were reed beds stretching
As far as the eye can see
They were there before the land
Was covered with forests
Now being given a hand by man
To protect the wildlife

Maggie

What grows in the hedgerows?
Elderflowers and nuts
Mushrooms and wild garlic
Raspberries and blackberrie
Rosehips and nettles
Among many other edible things
That we can pick and gather
Freely since time immemorial
Thank you Planet Earth

She skipped and jumped her way
around one lap of the football pitch
squealing and whinnying
like a gazelle
exercising
and enjoying the fresh  air

He stood
In the hot sun
With his tournament-style
Heavy coat on

Did he have water
Or was he asleep
On his four feet?
We stood at the fence
To see if he was alright
"Do you want a carrot?"
Which he understood
And as we went to buy one
He showed us
That he did have water
And after we chucked
The carrots
Over the fence
He showed us that he liked them
By giving us a big smile

Maggie   June 6th 2016

What a transformation!
The river back within it's banks
Gently meandering
Children swimming
A grey heron spied fishing
Through the budding leaves
Unknown wildflowers on the ground
It was as if the winter floods
Hadn't happened

Maggie   Apr 20 2016

After such a wet winter

A pink cloud
Then a purple cloud
Not a white
Or a stormy cloud
Appeared before me
At the window
Then
A sunset
A satellite
A single star
And a crescent moon

The beauty of which
Held me in awe

After such a wet winter


Maggie

A note to my self
not to mingle
when the workmen's tools
are echoing

Wait
until they have gone
and the unsettling spell
is over and done

In the stillness of the morning air
The sound of rustling leaves in the trees
A quiet time to meditate and contemplate
On questions that man must have pondered upon
Down the ages
Who am I
And Why am I?

Maggie Sorbie  June 26th 2016

"A Mars a day
helps you
work rest and play"
so they say
Leave time
to play

This morning
Maggie was unsure
about what she could
articulate

She says that
imports are important
as she chews another
blueberry
from Argentina

and sips on a coffee
with an anonymous
unarticulated
origin

sweetened
with sugar
from somewhere
and milk
from a cow
in The Eden Valley

For which I am thankful
(And "she" is me!)

I don't understand computers
technology, mobile phones-
things that are not tangible
but
I do understand
nature's cycle
like the journey leaves undergo
from falling off
in the autumn
and
reappearing
in the springtime
as buds and blossoms,
migrations and hibernations
of birds and animals,
all interdependent
on each other
and their environment

We headed north to Keswick
for a change
to go to the stone circle
at Castlerigg
We hadn't been there in some time
As it started to get dark
the shadows from the stones
became parallel
geese flew above in formation
low flying jets circled around
low to the ground
There was a wonderful awareness
or the meeting
or ancient and modern

Sat in  the flat

On the door I heard a tap

Cadbury chocolate appears

It must be thursday

Andrew's here.......



Thinking what to do

I thought I'd show him a poem or two

Looking aound

The poems we found

We had a look

but they were not in a book

On line they were

The words on the screen were there


Maggie said Lets make a rhyme

Andrew answered
Yes that will be fine

Some words from you

A few bits from me

Now it is time

For a cup of tea

An early spring this year
Zillions of Snowdrops
intermingling amongst
Crocuses and Daffodils

A delight for our eyes

Spring
is in the air
wild flowers appearing
everywhere
Wood Sorrell
and violets
and wild garlic
which you can
chop up
and put into eggs

A rabbit leapt
across the road
and lots of lambs
are frolicking
in the fields
which are
unbelievably green
at the moment

The pink cherry blossom petals
don't make a sound
as they reach
the ground

While sitting
at the side entrance,
the oak tree
towering above me,
I could see
the golden leaves
changing
in the sunlight

Looking down
I saw a robin
and a dragonfly
on a blue hydrangea bush

Autumn
is definitely
on its way

I am truly thankful
for the kindness
of some strangers
and friends
spontaneously
offering
help

We walked along
The lakeshore
Flying Canadian geese we saw
And bluebells galore
Anchors were clanking
The waves were lapping

The lake shimmered
In the warm sun
And the big oak trees
Gave us shade

The marshland
Had yellow flowers
That we did not know
The name of
And we enjoyed
Sitting by the water
Eating ice cream
In such a peaceful setting

Maggie  May16 2016

We went to Chester's for lunch
Yummy and veggy
Reasonably-priced
And we thought there couldn't be
A better place to eat

It was like a tree house
The water was trickling
Over the stepping stones
And the bright sun bounced
Off the water
Through the dappling leaves

And on the other side of the river
The lime green shiny leaves were
Reflected in the water

For a moment I thought I saw a ******
It was truly magical to see

The rustling leaves carried in the breeze
As the sun began to shine
And dried up all the rain
So we can go out to play
At the end of the school day
Yippee Aye Yay

When the ground freezes
its surely good
to find shelter
and the flare of a fire
to keep us nice and warm

We found one slug
yesterday
in my bathroom
This doesn't seem
hygienic to me
I wish the workmen
would hurry up
and do their job
putting a new floor
and drain in
They've been looking
and contemplating
without actually
doing it
yet

They give me the heeby jeebies

The leaves are blowing
Around on the ground
The tall trees are swaying
In the breeze

I am thankful
For the dry and windy day
Giving the rain water
A chance to flow away

Maggie

Feb 22 2016 Windermere

The golden leaves are still shimmering
in the autumn breeze

Cheering Up On  A Wintry  Day    

Gazing at the grazing sheep
And our feathered friends
Flying in flocks
On  a wet wild and wintry day

Feeling peaceful
When I returned home
For the first time in ages

Maggie Sorbie
January 2017

My mother and I
Sat on the settee
Where I was happy to be
I saw twizzling butterflies in the air
And blue **** two of them in a pair
Mum saw a man up in a tree
In the next door garden to me
It was good to be there
With my mum
Because I love her
And she is the best mum
In the whole wide world

Maggie Sorbie  August 2016

Raindrops on the grass
I went out to pick a flower
The fresh air felt good

Our children's future counts
We'll have to look after
our planet
so it can
look after us

Will she or won't she
come and cut my hair today
Still wondering when

The bridge is still bouncy
The water calm and clear
Horses’ hoofprints churned the grass
Bright yellow star-shaped Celandine
Bluebells and Wood Sorrel
Shoals of fish
Delighting people

Flowers
Phosphorus in water
Babies and Bubbles
Raindrops and rainbows
Company

The mustard coloured leaves
shine golden in the sun and the breeze
soon to fall to the ground
and join others strewn around

I love my rubber ball
It makes me stand up nice and tall
I can throw it
I can catch it
I can bounce it
I can follow it
I can pass it
I can share it
I can kick it
And in so doing
I can learn from it
That's why I love my rubber ball

Nice bright
sunshiny day
melting the snow
from far away

A large land
Located
Across
The Atlantic Ocean
Where
I don't want to go

Public right of way
Ancient pathways
over common land
where livestock is grazed
in a traditional manner
It is important
that this local source of food
continues
for farmer's markets
and fairgrounds
Local produce
being much better for our health
than imports
from far away