loneliness sorrow
words like grey clouds in the sky
storms of emotions

then I see your face
lit by the sun and shining
I the moon reflect

then clouds drift away
as your warmth floods into sky
there’s just you and I

beloved flower
reminder of sacrifice
bravely defending

sorrowful flower
says we must never forget
the trenches of hell

noble lives wasted
lions were led by donkeys
greatest pointless war

sweet shy in velvet dress
colour of empresses upon an innocent flower
she rules us with perfume

Scarlet, crimson, alizarin,
I name you flame
I call you passion
Your velvet petals growing
in spiral mystery
Embracing the bee
that sips her nectar

Wisdom spills like morning light
From youthful lips untouched by spite,
Pure and simple, crystal clear,
With virtue adults long to hear.

Why is the sky grey and blue?
Why is there a shadow over the moon?
Questions that we've long forgotten,
Wrapped in wonder, freshly gotten.

They see the world with untrained eyes,
No filters yet to cloud their skies,
No prejudice to dim their sight,
Just raw perception and pure delight.

In their logic, direct and true,
Lives the insight we once knew,
Before the world grew complicated,
Before our minds were educated.

So when curious children do speak,
Their random thoughts, pure and unique,
For in their words, both odd and sage,
Lies innocence that vanishes as we age.

©️Lizzie Bevis

You can only weigh the smoke
after the ashes.

You can only measure the man
after the tears.