Sleep deserted me as I pondered through my window
hours before dawn
The fields beyond looked like a desert of dew glittering
in the haze filled light
Bare foot I walked following the light
I pondered more
My mind cleared and I could feel the dew
washing my feet
Suddenly I stopped a lost smile caressed my face
and a tear to my cheek
A new dawn arose then as the sun bathed me
I pondered no more

The granite stone, so proud and strong
could not be broken the hardest of men
Yet, the rain came at first so gentle bathing
him softly then relentlessly
Next the wind searching every crevice
releasing the smallest spec of dust
Then the sun ******* out and remaining moisture
the cracks appeared
Ageing was the worst that once proud upright
hardest of men slowly aged
his life fell all around him until he broke
He ask for help

From that day forth his life changed
washed by the gentlest of hands
dried with care and hope
kept warm with smiles and laughter
accepting age and the inevitabilities it brough
is now remembered with love

Etched on the tallest of granite stone.

The sparrow sang for breakfast
The robin sang for tea
Death by misadventure
The jailer holds the key

The jackdaw sang for supper
The nightingale at midnight  
The major sips his sherry
The conscripts fight the fight

Then as the sun rises
The day begins again
The salmon swim in the rivers
The grouse nest in the glen

So, as you try to wonder
What this poem's all about
If you are the last to leave
Please switch the lights out

I awoke to the silence
at first welcoming
then eerie, I was being watched
I quietly unzipped to peek outside
The dew upon the grass shone like diamonds
as the dawn rose
Thick mist blocked my vista of the woods that
I knew lay beyond the field
my eyes came to life as a shadow stood at the edge of the mist
His outline stood bold, muscles twitched as he grazed
ears alert to every sound, vast twisted antlers nodding with every chew of the cud
I moved slowly, then our eyes met

I could feel the beating of me heart, he could hear it
as his snort blew white  

The most beautiful moment of my life

I blinked and he was gone

My eyes tell me they don't belong here
flourishing in a foreign climate
Invasive some say?
they do no harm, do they?

The natives seem content
letting their seeds mix
For a stronger more colourful future
or will the garden be overrun

The gardener, bless him
seems to have lost control
Sat in his hut drinking tea, watching
sharpening his secateurs

The deadheading is ruthless
lazy and the weak first, then the needy
The natives are nearly all gone
some clinging on, fighting back

My eyes tell me I don't belong here
maybe I'll flourish in warmer climes
I'll do no harm
honest?

I sat by that stone and smiled at my past
un-noticed, how did time slipped by so fast
As I read the words that made me proud and sad
then remembered the faces of my mam and my dad
The advice they gave and the things they'd say
I became their young boy again in the quiet of that day
So, I layed out my flowers in that long flower queue
and this time I remembered to say, thank you

The fiddler played her tune and the people danced
the skirts of the women floated
as they were thrown high by the young men
laughter consumed by the night

A loan guitar lamented sadly  
and the voices followed
tears on the cheeks
as the lovers danced

The beat changed
and the hands clapped, louder and louder
on a loan table she tapped her feet
and weaved her hands, louder and louder

And the wine flowed and the beer spilt
not a word was spoken
as the fiddler played her tune
and the people danced and the people danced