The morning after the mourning

It's the morning after the mourning
the official period done
and though not forgetting Majesty
she's now radiant in the sun

Her long reign now is over
and with Phillip and the rest
she's Queen now where in heaven
everything is just the best

Something from nothing

It doesn't look like much I know
but the satisfaction wrought
from half an hour of crafting
inspired by a simple thought
is pleasing and in fact replete
a sense of job well done
working with just what you find
whilst having lots of fun
And that in fact's the essence
of what this allotment brings
to each of us as time we spend
down here whilst growing things

Of oak leaves, glass and talented soulmates

Fresh out the kiln for autumn
oak leave inspired glass
bound for the stall in Lewes
purchased by those who pass

All crafted by my soulmate's hand
I'm hoping one will find
its way into my study
as I am that way inclined

Good cheer

I've probably said it and written it down
in a poem I've crafted before
Repetition aside though, I'll say it again
as this is what writing is for
A message in words with a syntax to flow
off the tongue as one reads it aloud
which as poet and wordsmith fills me with a joy
of which (I might add) I am proud

Two thousand years

Two thousand years of weathering
this column's stub has seen
in situ still in Sussex where
in all that time it's been
A testament to Roman skill
and craftsmanship to see
that though but just a stub remains
it's here and long will be
So, looking up to Bignor Hill
this ancient land so fair
I stood to ponder that a while
and in that moment share

Stopham Bridge IV

At Stopham Bridge, late summer
with cool waters down below
as the Arun slowly trickles
on a turning tide quite slow

Sitting on the decking of the
White Hart across the way
this view is quite breathtaking
on this peaceful summer day

For an ear (reprise)

Concluding the Jemverse series ‘Music II’ [10 of 10]

I am music and pleasure
for those with an ear
Hours of contentment
for freedom and cheer

Seagulls, the sea and a song (reprise #2)

8 of 10 in the Jemverse series ‘Music II’

Alone on the shingle
Salt in my mouth
Braced against wind
Looking to South
Out there in the green
Waves rise and fall
As I listen again
To familiar call
A song just for me
The swoop and the cry
The sea and its music
As seagulls fly by

Rhythm II (reprise)

6 of 10 in the Jemverse series ‘Music II’

As the music fades
with the rhythm of my drum
I am still dancing

Bringing Happiness (reprise)

4 of 10 in the ‘Music II’ series from Jemverse

Listening to music, anything will mostly do
But my spine will always tingle with some solid 12-bar blues

Lots of things bring happiness, this is just for starters
And mostly not a day goes by without finding what I'm after

Constant (reprise)

2 of 10 in the ‘Music II’ series from Jemverse

Music knows no boundaries
It cares not how I feel
It has but one sole purpose
To cure all and to heal.

It will lift me and console me
It will always be a friend
It will surprise me and amaze me
For its wisdom knows no end.

Sunday (Jemaiku)

Sunday, ah - the rest and peace
unimportant - time
These are all my hours to spend
with choice and fancy
whim and nonchalance
For the pleasures of my choice
until evening comes

Four spans across the Adur

Part of the ‘Past to Present’ series from Jemverse

Four spans across the Adur
at its mouth at Shoreham town
on the road on into Lancing
at the foot of Sussex Down

Four spans of steel construction
admired for sixty years
'til Norfolk Bridge mark II's demise
'midst many local tears

Something about

Something about the hand of the sea
and the tactile nature of things
it leaves in its wake for people to find
to pull at many heart strings

Something about the smooth of the feel
and the salt blended into the grain
that brings inspiration to a poet's mind
for words that will always remain

Wavefall

Went for a walk on the beach
in the morning
at first light of day when
most still were snoring
It was quiet and peaceful
just the sound of the sea
and the crunch of the shingle
the wave fall and me

New pen II

A new pen in my poet's hand
always brings a joy
something it has always done
since I was just a boy
It's all about the tactile
and the way the ink just flows
that makes me want to write and 
see how to the page it goes

Vinyl Revival

Who'd have thought it in the eighties
when vinyl was slipping
that we'd see all the usurpers fade
to crown again the king

Compact cassettes and eight-track
DAT, mini-disc, CD
all claimed to be the next best thing
to set the vinyl free

Summer knows (reprise)

9 of 10 in ‘The Lavender series’ from Jemverse

Purple fields
fragrance high
sunshine bright
deep a sigh
Lavender
in perfect rows
ripe for harvest
summer knows

A place in the sun (reprise)

7 of 10 in ‘The lavender series’ from Jemverse

Our new bench sun trap captures the sun
right at the end of the day
Surrounded by lavender, it’s just what we need
for a rest from the frack and the fray

Lovely III (reprise)

5 of 10 in ‘The lavender series’ from Jemverse

Cabbage white on my lavender
fluttering about
It’s lovely out here
and I’d glad I am out
So warm in the sunshine
on this wonderful day
the middle of summer
with wildlife at play

A life worth living (reprise)

3 of 10 in ‘The lavender series’ from Jemverse

I might see a roaring wave
or a flower on the breeze
or a smile as something happens
or something brings me to my knees

I might feel a mountain
or a feather floating by
I might spill a thousand tears
as their beauty makes me cry

What the sun does (reprise)

1 of 10 in ‘The Lavender series’ from Jemverse

Yellow, warming, lifts my soul
Catches me and comforts. Gives me strength
Encourages smiles when smiles are scarce.
Breathes contentment.
It is a friend, closer in the summertime;
More distant in winter chill. But always there.
Always listening. Always rooting for my best interests.
It is lavender and jasmine and honeysuckle
Combined and lingering in the evening air.

Two Dodoitsus (II – Sunday)

And so to the beach again
for ocean's cooling water
Sunday blisters relentless
yet this gift is here

Two Dodoitsus (I – Saturday)

Weekend and Saturday comes
and the mercury still climbs
Summer well and truly here
Felt within this heat

No chumps here

In the cold frame go the seeds
which I have today just sown
the frame that was just two weeks gone
with brambles overgrown

Elsewhere as day by day we toil
and clear a a little more
the plots are getting ready 
for a winter crop in store

No hose

We've hidden the hosepipe away in the shed
as the long lack of rain has inevitably led
to a ban of the sprinkling of water for gain
pending reservoirs filling up once more with rain

Seagulls on the wing

Seagulls flying on the wing
on the beach as I
sit outside my beach hut
and watch them hover by
Indicative of all that is
a life beside the sea
this vista with the seagulls
is here a part of me

Resident Penguin

Buried in the undergrowth
we found a penguin hiding
brushed him off and gave him
somewhere better to reside in
thought that it must surely be
a sign for better things
as for our new allotment a
new life with him begins