Down to the beach

I came down to the beach
after a long and arduous day
the sunshine still quite high
and quite hot still I would say

I walked the four miles there
with my AirPods in my ears
listening to Underworld
as I have done for years

Nightwrite II

I couldn't sleep
so wrote instead
to get the words
out from my head
The night was hot
the air was still
and slumber failed
completely 'til
the early hours
and cooler times
when I had written
all my lines

Sometimes II

Sometimes a biplane
will fly overhead
some of them yellow
and some of them red
Sometimes a seagull
will call on the breeze
as I sit in the sunshine
its warmth on my knees
Sometimes the sea
I will many hours view
for this vista has charm
and always feels new

Beginning XII

12 of 12 in the Jemverse ’12 months IV’ series

Forty-eight beginnings later
first of August twenty-one
the last one in this series
now twelve months since begun
But not (you will be pleased to hear)
the last one here for good
for I'll begin a brand new series 
next month here (you knew I would)

Idyllic II

And in this patch of England
idyllic by the lake
a little slice of heaven
on this evening we will make
Sunshine setting, shadows long
with stillness to the air
we stand and simply marvel
whilst a nightingale sings there

Not that far

Walking to the beach hut
it's not so very far
but the view along the waterside
is quite spectacular
There's sunshine on the water
and though some clouds are grey
it's very warm and pleasant 
on this lovely summer day

By and by I'll sit me down
on the beach I call a friend
outside my haven beach hut
until the day has reached its end
And then I'll wander home again
back beside the sea
watching as the evening falls 
on this fair soliloquy

The plan (part VI)

No. 6 in the continuing Jemverse ‘allotment’ series

For the first time I sat back
and knew that 'we'd done good'
at our allotment established
as we'd hoped that it would

And now we can harvest
the produce and fayre
of the things we have laboured
for and groom right there

And keep up the momentum
to see it prosper and grow
and keep on producing
with grandeur to show

Ubi Sunt

As a boy these docks, this harbour
was a playground for adventure
fascination for a mystery
with no interest in debenture
Freedom then to roam and play
in summers with no ending
gave birth to a long love affair
with Sussex there befriending

But that was a long time ago
and though docklands here remain
the yearning for adventure
I have long learned to refrain
Transitory was that time
yet still there's vestige here
with sun-bleached memories of my youth
rekindled by the year

Henfield Skies

The evening view from Henfield
to the distant Sussex hills
beneath a big sky canopy
is made for signs and thrills

Magnificent the blue and green
tinged golden by the sun
simply takes the breath away
as gazing here I'm stunned

And so I simply breathe it in
this view to satisfy
as evening settles on Sussex
and time rolls slowly by

Seven Trees

In 'Seven Tree Field' whence we come week by week
I've been taking picture of trees
as all seasons come
and the changes are done
of the wonder my camera lens sees

Summer in abandon

Summer in abandon
grey and rainy every day
sometimes very windy
and quite miserable I'll say
The sun has gone on holiday
and left us quite alone
which isn't very thoughtful
as we're still stuck at home

So long days lounging on the beach
are absent at this time
as are evenings out the back
with a warm glass of wine
But just around the corner
August waits with bated breath
so perhaps there is a glimmer
for us here, the bereft

Last Brunch

Last brunch today so IPA
featured as it should
along with a veggie breakfast
from the menu which looked good
Shared with jocund company
conversation for a smile
here at our Al Campo
where we come once in a while

That lavender time again VI

Every year my lavender
features on this day
The twenty-third of each July
no matter, come what may

For this as each year passes
is that lavender time again
celebrating harvest time
from sunshine and the rain

And culminating in
this fragrance so divine
which comes from all the lavender
I pick around this time

Short back and sides

Gave the back garden
a bit of a trim
as it's amazing how quickly
the state it gets in
So the bushes out there
got a short back and sides
to give us more light
as each evening provides

Sunshine Bright (revisited) II

Concluding the Jemverse ‘Summer 21’ series (10 of 10)

Dawning bright, I know you well
you are a friend of mine
Always welcome, never shunned
the warming bright sunshine
I smile upon your dazzling face
I squint into your glare
And always come alive a bit
whenever you are there

The summer of me (revisited) II

9 of 10 in the Jemverse ‘Summer 21’ series

When the morning air welcomes
From a night time that’s done
And the wind has died down
Giving warmth to the sun
And the sea’s a flat calm
Now the new day’s begun
The summer of me lives again

Encouraging the sun (revisited)

8 of 10 in the Jemverse ‘Summer 21’ series

Fragile and fleeting
a delicate sun
Kissed a few flowers
and then it was done

Hiding behind
a dark wall of grey
It bid me farewell
and was gone for the day

But I wasn’t having
any of that
So I frantically waved
and bid it come back

Anticipation (revisited)

7 of 10 in the Jemverse series ‘Summer 21’

There are moments in soft summer days
when a whisper to the world
is all that’s needed when I wake
and the morning is unfurled

The sweet refrain of birdsong there
as the sunshine filters through
is enough for me to welcome
another day of something new

Anticipation breathes content
there’s a promise with the sun
and I venture out with purpose
as though my life had just begun

Cusp of summer (revisited)

6 of 10 in the Jemverse ‘Summer 21’ series

Smooth the sand ‘neath greying skies
The breeze it softly sings
As o’er the sea, the setting sun
A gathering it brings

Caught up in this, the ebbing tide
Back across the beach
And there, the cusp of summer
Just a little out of reach

Gentle waves in movement turn
With salt upon the air
The sunset fades and slips away
To night time waiting there.

Golden…(revisited)

5 of 10 in the Jemverse series ‘Summer 21’

Golden water on
Golden river
Golden shimmer on
Golden sea
Golden dawn on
Golden morning
Golden smiles on
Golden me

Summer (revisited) II

4 of 10 in the Jemverse ‘Summer 21’ series

Oaken tree tall, middle of field
Shading all from the sun’s heady yield
Shadow of evening, summer is here
Cobwebs have vanished, eyes are now clear
Long gone the cold that brought chill to the bone
Here now the sultriness smiling from home

Waxen soft thread in the new light of dawn
Shimmering there in the silvery morn
Seeing the first time Nature’s new child
Deep ‘cross the meadow and born with a smile
Hovering there o’er the blues and the golds
The treasure the wise ones have long known of old

At the eve (revisited)

3 of 10 in the Jemverse series ‘Summer 21’

At the eve of this day

I will lie back in lavender

And there will be evening sunshine

And a deep breath of contentment

And I will smile

Goodness (revisited)

2 of 10 in the Jemverse ‘Summer 21’ series

Sunrise over a sea-mist evening
Summer’s soft call now
The heat of day slip-slides away
Cool now upon my brow

Golden painted water glistens
And seagulls on the wing
Hover lazy, almost sleeping
As evening songbirds sing

This is a picture dreams are made of
Contented smiles attest
All one could hope for and as I am here
I am a man who’s blessed

Blue (revisited)

Blue in meadow, Summer green
Open window, Bright sunbeam
Weather warming, Yellow too
Sunshine beckons, Pastel hue
Grass grows longer, Green abounds
Flowers appearing, Summer sounds
Cold winds fading, Warmer breeze
Waves receding, Paddling seas
Beach huts open, Sandals out
Summer’s here, Without a doubt

Two Swans

Two swans down by the waterside
of the River Ouse
as it flows north of Lewes
cold water there to use
Preening their white feathers
so pleasing to the eye
as on our way back to the car
Sal and I walk by

Buckingham House

As a boy I used to play here
inside the burnt out walls
playing hide n seek and other games
within its hallowed halls

Once we ventured to the basement
down dark and dusty stair
oblivious to danger
with innocence to dare

But now all these years later
it is a block of flats
although the outside walls remain
preserved and still intact

The best I’ve known

Back on the six-miler
in Sussex from my home
it's great to be up here again
the best walk I have known

And that is saying something
as many trails I've trod
several on the continent
and more on English sod

But it's always back to Sussex
which is hardly a surprise
as this is where my home is
where my heart truly lies

42

Things have changed a little
here in Worthing over time
as there was no big wheel here
back in nineteen seventy-nine

Forty-two years passed since then
yet we two still are here
soulmates then and soulmates now
in our forty-second year