Creative actions are more than enough
To convince me that I am working hard
Blooming flowers prove the point
That nature has a method of showing the world
How amazing we all are.
Dedication from each of us can portray
The effort of clarification from results
Mornings of sunshine days are also great ways
To feel we are on the firmest of footings and cups
Of our enthusiasm drench us as our excitement bubbles
Flesh is weak they say but not so
Eliminate our thought process
Just leave the muscle and the bones of the plan
By any respect the job will be done
Sometimes dwelling on an evaluation is fruitless
Gain some notes in your tune
Misalign your face and just work at it.
Develop your space and live
Don't think too much
Enjoy the life with which we are blessed

Asking you to be with me forever was no decision
I wanted to say the words for ages
The more I knew you, the more I wanted you
Giving you a ring was a statement of love
Nothing more than my love wrapped around your finger
Wrapped around your heart the other end was on mine.
A circle of never ending love continuous and everlasting
Love you, love you, love you was my way of saying
‘Be mine forever as I will be yours’
A year on how much that means
Feelings so very deep and yet so tender
I will remember forever your eyes and your face
The day you said ‘yes’

I long for your lips to touch mine
A tender feeling as we breathe each others breath
The closeness is intoxicating
I miss this most when we are apart
Along with your arms
Holding me and clutching me to your body
I am afraid that this is just too special
I want your body near me always
the smell of your hair and the touch of your skin
Takes me to places I never knew existed
Love can bring us together but never
As close as physical touch
As I wait for you to come home
and envelop me as always
I can feel my heartbeat quicken and thud in my ears
Your smile breaks the moment
We face each other
Just a kiss, a kiss, a ki...., a k...., a......, X

Paintings on the walls showing her face
Driven by love and passion
Cared for so deeply a facsimile always in my mind
Creating her likeness on canvas
Moving my spirit as I paint
Seeing her face so clearly
Her smooth complexion
Her distinctive chin and eyes like pools
Pools of lucid water so deep and soulful
Losing myself in her charm and her love
Waiting for her I imagine the brushes stroking
Placing the paint so gently
As if my fingers were touching and caressing her
The lightness of her smile the air of calm
Sitting and contemplating
Her hair crowning her head the sparkle in her eyes
Gazing into the space in front
Soon I look at the shapes created by her arms against her body
The angle of her crossed leg and the area of smoothness
That is her thigh.
My painting complete
Yet so tender and careful
Cannot compete with the real Jan
My shining star day and night.

Composition of my body that leaves a space
Complete resonance with the world around me
Take me but treat me with care
I have but one long fissure of love
Magnify that with the salt of the earth
The birdsong and the fresh air that is ours
Dont regard me as a static soul
But one that writhes under the actions of being
The truly enacted movements witn intent
This soul is gentle and kind
Matched with a body giving
I expect little but the little must be special
The light in my heart burns deeply for you
It carries the fuel of years
Never ending but eternal.
Feed me with your love, take my soul
Treat it well and give too
The desire for completeness has been sated
The continuing elements that keep us
Float on a sea of tides
Pulled and caressed by the Goddess
She keeps us rounded, calm and serene
Breathe your life giving prana and rejoice
Whilst the light in my heart burns for you

Moorland skies and breaking dawn clouds,
forcing the weak sunlight through the barren trees.
Crows with no particular places dart from one copse to the other.
Flying above your head, tearing the morning skies into shreds.
Elusive mists on the undulating lanscapes give peeks of field stubble or dark  grass.
Nearer, the feel of the five bar gate
Is damp and slimy with the dew,
The rough wood barely discernable
Until the warmth of your hand gives up enough heat to release its underlying texture.
To the right the west seems still asleep,
Unaware of the fingers of the sun's rays inching closer.
Sliding through gateways,
Over ponds and into unexpected windows.
To the east its almost day,
Cool yellow light weaving it's way through or past the trees,
Hedges, odd building and rests at your feet.
Bowed in reverence as if to hand you this day on a platter saying, '
'This day is my gift to you, enjoy.'

See me sitting looking into space
My emulations are not purposeful
Thinking of your joyous image and recalling the last words
Wings of birds beat out the rhythm of my heart
Waiting for the next time we meet
Umbilically connected as two so close
Maintaining nourishment for our souls
Generous hearts retain such energy
Battery-like running down as time moves on
Charging my mind with your thoughts
Feeding me, keeping me alive
Whomsoever will see me will believe
No change is apparent
Yet inside my longing for you is prominent
Especially on slow days
Keep safe my love, come home soon

Remembering that first time it seems just yesterday
Keeping my head together, arriving
Can’t believe how fast it’s gone by
Seven hundred days and some

Catching my breath and holding your hand
What an amazing feeling of love
Growing like a seed inside…..just
Every day more intense…. and such power!

Losing control of my life and placing it in your care
From that day I knew we were one
Together until eternity comes
The sun always shining on our souls, warming and caring

We gave our hearts to each other and we relaxed
Healing our lives and making us whole
For the very first time, we were complete
In each others arms

Seven hundred days of love
Seven hundred days of happiness
Seven hundred days of contentment
Seven hundred days of you and me

The life we wanted is here and now
The love we wanted, nay, craved was there from that first time
The future we once dreaded has become one to relish
And the best is yet to come

Thank you for being mine, for taking the trouble
To understand and be there for me
Thank you for saying the things that you say
For looking me straight in the eye when you do

Thank you forever for seven hundred days
Every one has been a special gem to cherish
Your heart is so true just like everything you are
But most of all thank you for loving me as I love you.

Windward side stands firm and proud
The sailing ship its sails a-straining
Clever sailors move around
Guiding hull through stormy waters
Masts are bending through the gales

Taking gusts within their shape
Canvas flapping then goes taught
Calmer waters seem so distant
Temper timings never fraught
Faces stung with salty sea spray
Leathered hands holding firm
Sheets are straining, weather raining
Noise of waves is deafening too

Sometimes when the ship is yawing
Pitching, rolling, deck like glass
It's no wonder cleats and blocks
Are creaking, matelots lives are holding fast

Quaint I strain at completing
My latest work of art
Resolute my ears hear the sounds
Lost in the time of our lives
Make this our freedom dash
Our statement of intent
Care not for rules of others
Our song can be heard by many
They will listen and weep as we live

Capturing pure light
Holding my hands in coupling
Watching through my fingers
Grading my thoughts in a scale of values
From darks into the highlight
Make me aware of the plan
Tell me what you're doing
Feed me the vision and open up
Plan and concentrate
Relax your arms, your neck
Give your subject some credibility
Don't allow your self to be intimidated
Face the wall, take a break
Look again at your subject
Complete your scanning
Think nothing just look
Your first mark is important
Take your time
And draw.....

How many of us realise
How many of us see
The freedom we are allowed
To live and to enjoy the best things
How many of us take for granted
Each sunrise, each tree, each flower
Often spoken about in essence
In reality, I wonder?

In our house we have a lovely life
Small it may be in size but enormous in what it holds
Floor space is at a premium especially but..
It doesn’t matter because we live within each other
Our spirits locked together in a warm embrace
Physically we are close too, always
Our garden and our house mean much to us
It’s our first home together
When we buy anything we struggle to place it
Moving something else as we shuffle things around
Grateful for the chance to be us, we survive
Every day a wonderful experience
Our little house holds lots of love
Keeping us safe from the world outside
The little spaces and tiny places
Make this house just what it is…
Our  lovely home

Keeping me here in your heart
Is all I ever wanted
No special fanfare
No mission or announcement
Journeying together is everything
No looking sideways but forwards
Don;t turn around to see, focus on the horizon
Greater love is hard to see from the vision
We created when we met.
How terrible when the peace is broken
And our day is shaken
Not under the spell of you but in,
in pure love as ever anyone can be
Can you imagine the day without this?
The day without our silly games and our
rhetoric of simple living
Hands touching even now is electric
Anything else is like a firework
Shooting into the inky sky and lifting
Everything in it;s path
Incredibly we are grounded now
Even dreams
Following and holding us
I know my life has meaning
The only true meaning is us.

For my lovely Jan ***

Coming to one morning
My dreamy eyes espied
The moon reflected in a spoon
The tea had sunshine in the cup
The plate of toast was sea
The fire of love was in my heart
And lived along with me
My daily chore was simple
To make the seasons bright
To come and face the morning
After uncertainty of night.
Keep smiling through the daytime
Make contact with your self
Avoid the downsides in the way
Especially your wealth
Life has many promises
Most may not agree
That always there is cheerfulness
Along the road you see.
Make every day your challenge
And smile if you are sad
It's rarely quite as nasty
Or anything like as bad.

To bring us to the end of our year
The Time of rest is here at least for a while
Thoughtful journeys of discovery
Has us enjoying new places
In each stop we gave a heartfelt thanks
For helping us travel to this place of joy
October winds scud across caravan grey skies
Leaving a montage of images flooding our heads
Dangerous narrow lanes formulate hand held maps
Dancing on the edge of troupes of clowns or farmers
Giving the land its final tidy before winter slips its icy fingers
Around nature's final gasp of warmth

Your stone like toes in steel toe capped boots
Are no protection from the freezing rime.
Suddenly the sun breaks through the tiniest
Break in the battleship grey overcast
All too soon it is gone as the cloud heals
To keep the weak orange light from destroying the
Blanket of darkness on the cosmic washing line

To winter from autumn seems gradual
the colder days seem never to come
then suddenly
Evenings dark and misty, mornings grey
Daytime unpredictable as moods
Changing the way I feel about the season
Can be down to the moment
As the weather is pocketed in sealed containers
waiting for nature to unwrap
Crisp leaves that grow slippery and brown
as they become a slight carpeting on the dampness
Stones of summer now covered in brown rain
their reflective paths a dismal slide, waiting
for your forceful heel to push against the tide
Steaming car exhausts hang in the air
The drivers clothed in coloured warmth
avoiding the stupid local cold
Inside the cabins the impossible air grates
through the vents and produces unnatural
heat as respectful workers chug their way onward
The uncertain and limbo times of autumn's life
is it just a precurser to the false star of Christmas
A painful unnecessary period of man's making
For what? A need to have time feeling justified
Of wasted resource and overfeeding.
How desperate this must sound to our ancestors
The souls that made us what we are.
Who had precious few pleasures. How much
would they appreciate our behaviour
At this time of fallow and rest. Conserving,
containing, consolidating our harvest
Saving our gain from mother earth
To keep our winter wholesome and honest.
No need to look far for goodness, the days
are all exquisite, the elements bring us
back to our roots and encourage our piety, for
each and everyone I ask for moderation,
careful spending and realisation that the
moving of warm, to cool, to cold is a message of love
from our earth. Not a reason to spend
A reason to exploit or ignore the wonderful gift
we are sent at Yule, the chance to dwell
and to mull over the year and be thankful
For we are the keepers of the earth
an endowment of faith and love for all
Be still and feel the chill air as it encompasses
our body but most of all enjoy the peace
As earth sleeps

Fraught yet tender the day begins
Unexpected effort is surprising
Time is the ruler
As simple goals are thwarted
In the end winning through
And seems a greater achievement
Muzzy head makes the effort
More difficult, strenuous lethargy
A careful check of the time indicates
Not everyone made the mark
Not everyone gave the same
Or achieved what this poor soul
Was even too weak to decree
Continue is a trait
'Keep going' a phrase that
Could be emblazoned on the carved
Headstone of my tomb
But going where at that point?
No medal required, no shout
Of appreciation
Just an understanding that when
All is lost or seems just too hard
My natural instinct is to continue
No deviation or side swipes
Solid unity of mind and body
Not even clever but just how it is

Gentle love is a touch
An instant fix to a dull day
Please put just your finger on my hand
Merited I hope..

Proud am I to have your love
So grateful for small elements
In the worlds bother
You can cure me

Fix my frayed soul
And smooth out my trepidations
Heal my split day
Melt my heart

Take the small breeze
That wraps around me
The breeze of your love
Cooling and calming

In my youth I knew you
I knew you would come for me
I waited and waited whilst you trod softly
Your fairy steps on the grass

May you be fulfilled
As the bee in the flower
The fresh wave that consumes the sand
Like s tranquil stroke of love

I' didn't always have your heart
But since we've been one
The setting sun no longer
Rests ******* the horizon of hope

Break through the nights peace
With simple birdsong
The melody of togetherness
Makes waking an adventure of magnificence

Smile as we sit looking away
Fading edges blur our dancing hearts
The mellowness of summer
Overrides the harshness of winter

Our spring and newly borne spirit
Is gathering energy and love
Wrapped in natural measures
To enjoy as we might

For my Jan
I love you as always ***

Many reasons why
Most times to think
To cleanse my soul of guilt
Empty my barren status of senseless killing
The morning light creeps into your eyes
To believe you're right
Deciding how to feel
About the noon of your changing spirit
Take the whole of the body
And mash into ******* gulps of fresh air
No I do not and nor will I
I want say these words
My faceless behaviour is ****** and meaningless
It shows no spine where desire is the lead
Fair enough to live in your world
But don't suggest a change
Unless it goes through
Contempt for empty promises
So stay silent or describe nothing
Make your move or keep quiet
Position yourself to reflect beliefs
Soaking up the message is poor
Make no mistake it's seen to be useless
Helps no one and certainly not you
So much to gain from that step forward
Respect and relief, sleeping nights
Daytime journeys have the right to make
Your heart feel light
It's changing times, changing times.

How fitting the autumn leaves fall now
As we sit contemplating the seasons of our lives
Whete even the most confident, ebullient and robust of people
Would consider their mortality
At this juncture in a troubled world

It takes a moment or two, when someone close to us
Puts on their coat and hat, waves good bye
And slips silently from our lives to realise that
The circle of life, of birth and death is a blessing
That we must accept as nature's way.
Hard though it might seem

So should we not be sad now?
Should we not be regretful, tearful nor feel despair
That our loved one has left us for the Summerlands?
Of course we should, it is natural for us
When we love someone we want them near us forever
Regardless of everything.

So as the blanket of leaves surrounds us
Like the trees now, we may feel empty and bare, exposed to
Everyday incidents, bereft and lost in our sadness.
But we need not be.
The ensuing winter is joyously filled with warmth
It is filled with the energy, the good cheer and memories
Of the spring and the summertime of our dear loved one Les
We remember the fun, the laughter the joy he brought to us all
The silly sayings, the actions and the way he did certain things
Any failings he had are not even anything to consider today

His obvious love for all of us will continue, as ours for him
It will live within us because he planted it there
He tended and watered it in the Spring and Summer
So that we can reap the benefit in the harvest
Continue to enjoy his love, his care and his presence
Even now as he returns to stardust from whence we were born

Dad will never leave us. I can feel his spark within me now
He is here in my heart and within yours too.
Take his energy, his joi to vivre
And let his spirit lift you and continue in your life
Then you will not feel so sad nor will you feel cheated
But thankful  you were part of his life
And he was part of yours
He was a special man, we must celebrate his life
As I know he would celebrate with his heart and soul
Through every season and every year to come.

Greatest moments contrived for us
Pleasure warranted but never wholly expected
In as much that time between makes us
Learn again about the people we are
Knowing our foibles and characterful
Voices, carving new ground even softer
Than ever before
If I could truly tell you the love in my heart
For you both it would take a small lifetime
Joyous flights of butterflies inhabit me
As we unravel the life before us
Stories of silliness or episodes of mundane deliverance
No matter what everything is a casket of treasure
Nothing is pedestrian or unnecessary
Imagining lives as our heads discover again
The minutiae of the days and nights
Thank you for making it special
For continuing to be the tiny girl I have loved
Since I held you in that little orange blanket.
Thank you for being the man that cares
The man that supports and loves the daughter
Who has given me so much.

Each day is blessing let's take that as read
But the emotional turmoil I handle
Makes my life fragmented and sometimes out of control
I'm a strong person
Situations don't phase me
But my feelings can be irrational
Then level, calm and in my grasp
Gaining reaction is the lifeblood
Although my confidence is high
I'm sad when the feedback I was expecting is absent
Is it usual to have standards
Overturned and disregarded by others?
Meditation

Spiralling expectations are often dashed
Nothing is usually clear at the start
An opportunity is flagged but often
It's not really the case
Use our Company and make your name
Use our gallery, service, mailer, contacts
It's great
Oh but just one thing we're new to this
Yet our hopes are high and someone has promised
To put you on their list...we'll only charge you
If we sell something, OK?

Sometimes the expectations of a journey
Can be foreboding
Even dreadful
Does that make it a surprise
When enjoyment arrives?
Perhaps all aspects of life are similar
But that doesn't help when as a natural optimist
My journey is usually familiar
Whatever my thoughts, the moment is key
The wasted effort of worry and dread
In essence was emotion inevitably led
By confidence or the lack of connected thought
For day to day incidences are often banal
So shouldn't we make each trip much less fraught
By living each minute for all it is worth.

Greater than ever
Deeper than most
Feather like feelings
Hold onto my heart
Pleading but softness
Maybe a weakness
Yet not ever changing
Can never be wrong

Eye flitting joy
Depends on our welcome
Silently, silently
Make me your own
Feed me your goodness
Kindle my fire
Its been too long
I've been away
Like a song

Take me within you
Keep me from falling
Away from the warmth
As your love comes forth
Gone are the feelings
Like arms hanging limply
Greater my love
As always for you

Leftover emotion
Footsteps are hollow
Stepping on pavements
Where I want to be
Looking around me
The nearest and dearest
My future is here
Under this tender roof

Spoiling my soul
With an ounce of emotion
Keep loving me endless
Your smiles are the best
Gather our goodness
Fulfil our forevers
Stand by each other
Cast our eyes to the sun.

Max Hale

Solstice midsummer is famous for revelry around the stones
The sacred stones on Salisbury plain
Laid as monuments by our ancestral people
The henge of countless moons and previous seasonal
wheel turns stands steadfast
Silently they hold the history we crave to unravel
The years of news, turmoil and worship
The rising and setting of our life-giving sun
The bitter cold winters, likewise winter solstice
Where few find solace holding their offerings
Or enjoying the feeble warmth from a far away star

The nature of Stonehenge carries the enigma
Which makes it special, mysterious and commands
Respect, awe and love
I believe like it's close neighbour Avebury
The Henge will remain enigmatic
A giant in the soil of the flat plains
Certain to give us the love it once received from Druidic
Peoples laying down their hopes and their wishes
Spending time absorbing, making and mending
Rekindling the connections around themselves
With the earth, through this massive conduit
The sacred stones everywhere hold their story
Close to their chest, the mirrored knowledge
That embraced the folk that built the magickal elements
Will be there for ever
Claiming the fascination of the masses but the respect
Of few that understand the real Stonehenge

Good, we've seen a view that excites us
But is that all you can say?
Where is the heartfelt imagery of your soul?
The faint hearted expression of love or dislike, mistrust or disbelief?
Too much is given over to vision
Although our eyes give birth to many items of beauty
The soulful messages dragged from our hearts
Give a clearer and deeper impression.
Take my painting here of her
Is that not her character, her look or demeanour
But the slant that I made with each tiny line

Take your inspiration and drive it
In every direction
Don't leave your image to anyone else
Do not be frightened to pour out your heart
Or making mistakes right from the start.
Gather your drawings, your sketches your musings
Develop a painting that truly is yours
Envelop yourself in a creative intention
Art is just that an intended finality
Be strong and try painting for all you are worth
Sink yourself inwards whilst looking outwards
Try not to give into quick fixes or such
Be forceful in mind but let your heart always guide you
You'll become a master with each little touch.

Feeling for someone is a burden
A burden that becomes you
It delivers a soulful journey whilst
Both are having connected visions

My desired heart has been fulfilled
No longer is it left along with the washing
It accompanies me as does my love, with
The certainty of tomorrow

Claiming my happiness seems unnecessary
like the sunrise it lives inside us
It becomes our energy
Our natural 'go to' emotion

The journey is green and gold
With silver amulets and chains of memories
slung around our shoulders
Like badges of office

The time of year has connotations
with the longevity of our love
Memories of breathing out visual steam
Or camping in the cool morning air

The emotion is as strong
It lives as we do with tempered faith
Deeper knowledge
And faith in ourselves to keep it right

Strength to our ancestors
In every way may seem unreasonable
The withering of latter day warriors
Complete in the window of activity
Which makes our understanding easier
Elements of era change our perception
Of great people as each may tune into
Different concepts
Similar doorways have lessened
The framing of powerful men,
In essence great lives are never discovered
Until latter days
When similar notions are reflected
In what we remember.
Never will we truly understand
But can only imagine how these souls
Suffered and lived within their time
Joyous and stressful, delirious or tortured
Great lives will have travelled them all.

Silver birch and holly tree
Along the path I walk
Woodland curtain
Bringing cool elements to mind

Squelchy footprints and ice cold wind
Cutting through the trees
Silence of the woods brings peace
Except for the chatter of the crows

I see noone but imagine souls
Of long-gone folk not far away
Hiding, hiding
I quicken my step, yet the paths
Incline keeps my breathing steady but deep

My fingers start to numb in my gloves
A typical feeling as the temperature
Hits just above freezing

I shiver but maintain my step
Removing my gloves
Thrusting my hands
Deep into my pockets,

The light is failing now
Winter solstice only a week away
I feel alone yet strangely
The wood seems full of people.

My imagination running wild.
Turning back as the path ends I realise
How the sunlight has gone
Twilight wraps its grey fingers around me.

Special is a word I was unaquainted with
It is not usually in my vocabulary
I used different words
Until I met my love

She must be the epitome of that word
The perfect match
In fact the only word that describes her
Not really, but it suits how she is to me

Fairy shoes on polished floors
Green light glowing in the waxy surface
Making glorious rings of transmitted light
Rainbows breaking up as the windows agree to let in

The dancing cherries of summer days.
Curling shadows cast from pretty arms
Made round as sleep endured
After busy day body resides in the comfortable reception

Sinking as weight increases as you let go
Relaxing muscles, duvet covers hold fast the shape of rest?
Yes rest is altered as time moves on.
No more feast of food or discussion  just peaceful slumber

Special she is as special she does
Counting simple things that endear me
Or humming a familiar tune
Checking the weather or slipping her hand in mine

She doesn't need to be extraordinary to be special
No flags or drum rolls
No letters of distinction or accolades of merit
She is special by just being mine.

Autumnal leaves have fallen
The onset of winter declared
Seasons changing do not destroy but allow nature to rest.
Throughout the years
We see and feel the early morning dew on our bare  toes
The weak spring sun through the trees
Reminds us of Springs past
Memories of Easter time, lighter evenings and blossom as the trees awake after winter slumber.
Memories are precious
evoking feelings of places, incidents, loved ones.
Summer, a time of warm long days
Eating outside and holidays to special places.
Remembering the seasons has personal moments embedded in our psyche
People are often regarded as a special Summer soul, Happy to make others cheerful, relaxed and content.
It is of course terribly difficult to allow these special folk to move to the Summerlands. We know no reason why they might cross the border but respect the fact that the circle of the seasons applies to us too. Allowing future life to develop, grow and enjoy this beautiful planet we, like the plants have a 'season".
Give a thought for the sunshine that bathed them, the ice and snow that retained them and the hundreds of days in-between where they spread their love over us and we them.

The blue, blue eyes peer toward you
Never again a conscious decision
To stay over, can be taken lightly
Your life is changed
Responsibility reverbs around your brain
A parent, can I be?
The cot and tiny clothes
Confirm a positive

No child is the same and your text book planning
Is already looking like a farce
Taking the governments view

Are you the type of person
Preferring to be under a roof
Or wandering in the garden
Or galloping out on the hoof

Are you desperate to escape
To the sunshine
The beach or leafy glade
Or sitting on the sofa
Drinking whisky and lemonade

Do you love to look out the window
But pleased to be warm inside
When others are walking in wellies
And you are safe in the dry

Is your dream to have a posh bedroom
A shower and toilet ensuite
Or prefer to be on a mountain
With long grass round your feet

Is your pleasure the feel of the spray
When waves break on the rocks
Or the smell of bread in the oven
As you stand in your joggers and socks

Do you like to get up in the morning
And put on your running kit
Escape to the footpaths or roadways
Or sit on the sofa and knit

I expect the thought of a bike ride
Would not be everyone's thing
When theres chance to go to the bathroom
To stand in the shower and sing

The difference from indoor to outdoor
Shows each of us as unique
In the kitchen or in the garden
In the chair or up the creek

Some of us like to be walking
Or leaping over a gate
The wind and the rain don't deter us
Arriving home quite late

While some prefer the safety
Of the rooms within the house
Things in the warmth of the homestead
Hiding away like a mouse.

In truth the split isn't easy
From indoor to outdoor you see
The weather decides for it mostly
Unless you are a ***** like me!

Salty spray ever dripping, the months of winter merge
Black tarmac usually so robust,
Pressured by evil winds of middle earth
Boring similarity where days glide by
Watched with pale faces in despair
Wet weather conditions fail the promise of new life
Flooding events, desperate for relief wash over
Where bright, white snow might be welcome
Yet, still the greasy mud clogs our footpaths
Making any sort of walking a physical impracticality
The greyness clouding our windows
Encourages little incentive to explore outside
Spring flowers resting within their bud in the cold earth
Reluctant and selfish to break through sodden mud
Before they come and surprise us with welcome colour
Giving respite within this desperate monochrome landscape.

Two small boys played on the waste ground
It was midsummer and the grass was in its golden glory
Dry and straw like they werd
Catching grasshoppers in the long grass
The older boy, a confident red hairded bespectacled lad
Gave advice to the younger one, 'keep your hands cupped, you'll catch one then'
The hot  the underlying concrete
The Bombies was a a patch of grass and the remains of buildings still uncleared after the second world war.
'Lets get home now' the red head suggested as they wandered still laughing back to his house not 50 metres away  down the hill.
Summer holidays spent together on the Bombies or playing cricket

My long-term friend keeps faith
The binding elements rooted in school days
Mean our understanding goes deeply into the crust
Of this beautiful earth.
Distance is far but nearer am I to him
Than my neighbour who makes no time to chat
She creates bad feeling and thinks not of simple humanity
My friend has soul and we measure our feelings with
Similar units, ounces of this and feet of that
The memories of which link us to transitional events today
I can remember us as boys
Laughing as drains with no intention
To stop to listen to others.

The reality of moving creeps over
Like a moorland mist
It promises a wonderful day at the end
But now fogs our vision and our thoughts
Planning is futile as the rescue party
Has other ideas, on time and importance
Each footstep feels heavy.
The light is dim and those guiding
Are studying a different map.
Destination certain but not the route
The days tick by and mist clears in places then comes down far worse than before
The energy travelling seems harder
As the hidden gateways have lost keys
To unpick is pointless and puzzling
If you're lucky your resolve pays off as the moorland's beauty is revealed on the horizon.
Suddenly your heart is lifted as the final mile is in sight. Then you twist your ankle and rest is required.
The journey amongst the cruel mist is challenging as the cold clammy fingers try to strangle you.
Reaching the end is filled with hurdles as the time is inflicted upon you. Carrying your load is hardest as the fine weather reverts to cloud and rain.
Shelter is at last with you but the stairway up is steep and winding.

People can let you know
The moment they feel unwell or sick
The main event is sat before table
never always as clear with those that cannot speak to us to ask for help.
The event may be passed over like a paper towel
The upright life has another facet, gesture and whisper, but not recognised at once
The care of our beloved pets exceeds logic but revolves around the silence, How can we know when its time, time to react to our thoughts and make action
If only we might communicate, through precious literature, knowledge or hunch. Our pets serve us with their love, without demand. At no time are they lookinģ for us to suit their lives, yet we do it anyway. We know, or believe we know their inner- most desires.
The sad events of any loving entity make leaving the earth a soulful, heart-breaking time.
Our love reciprocal gives us a reason to worry beyond reason almost before a predicted outcome
Then closing their eyes for the last time need not be as sad but merely a transition or gateway to the Summerlands. Loving us as they do it is never final, but significant only in a physical state
Their love and spirit for us lives forever. Returning to the stars in the sky, Lily shines on her way to eternity knowing her life was precious and fulfilling in leaving pawprints in our hearts and to stardust fom whence she came.