In the silent refraction of a New Year sun
as slowly in the thin Eastern sky
its distant yellow rays struggled,
January arrived to a silent world
Almost as if in slow motion, life passed
as through my window with early eyes
a perception of a whispered promise
echoed across a vacant sky
And the curl of a smile gathered pace
calming like a summer breeze
spoke long vicissitudes
with wisdom to a sleepy morning
The promise over our house today
in the sky right after the rain
gave us both a feeling of joy
when it with its radiance came
The colour was vivid, the arc of it wide
and though brevity saw its demise
its purpose was clear, one of promise and hope
beneath it revealed to the wise
It came so fast, the iron chill as winter took a hold
and shivering we huddled to hide from bitter cold
Sometimes we would venture out for food or other things
but mostly hibernation from the numb the winter brings
Where are the sunshine days
now winter's cold hand clasps?
Still there though faded now and weak
as summer never lasts
Yet there in the circle promise lies
and breath bated with a smile
knows with reassurance it
will come back in a while
Hiding in long shadows
of a small gig still I stood
listening to the music
but wishing that I could
find there the enjoyment
that my friends and others there
clearly understood as in
the moment there they shared
Yet despite the disappointment
in the long shadows here with me
a certain feeling lingered
that I knew with certainty
Said I was meant to be here
as this venue and this place
was testament and evidence
of promise born from grace
The warmth on my shoulder
as I sit here and write
is really quite lovely
in this winter sunlight
It feels just like summer
and if I close my eyes
I can see myself there
with no little surprise
A shaft of the sun
hit our north-facing garden
with a word just to say
for a beg of my pardon
A brief glimpse of promise
when the winter is over
and the sun is back out there
for days bathed in clover
To the New Year a promise
here made to ones self
to remain true to form
and with all of my wealth
to capture from life
one day at a time
its essence in words
and transpose to line
Reminiscing at conclusion
of this year that has now been
I think back over all that we
have done and all we’ve seen
As it started fairly normally
at the beginning of the year
when none had any reason
to think we’d shed a tear
But just a few weeks later
all the pubs and shops were closed
with people social distanced
diametrically opposed
the world ran out of toilet rolls
and pasta which was strange
as to a locked-in world
our lives we re-arranged
This time last year
rather innocently
we went up to London
town where did we
gather therein at
the Royal Alert Hall
to raise a loud voice
with glad anthem call
for Christmas carols
there with the throng
as myriad voices
joined there in song
A ‘beginning’ verse to end the year
with the coming of December
The twelfth month dawns and starts today
in this year we’ll all remember
And though one filled with tragedy
Twenty-twenty ends with hope
for with December comes a vaccine
to help the world to cope
I have a mind’s eye picture
of autumn here to find
which I’d like to share with you
and hope that you don’t mind
For though it’s one of fading
from a summer that’s now passed
it’s also one of hope
which I know is set to last
Adaptation is a precious thing
as it proves that we are able
to make the very best of things
when cards are on the table
I speak of course of Covid
and the lockdown and the change
it’s brought worldwide to all of us
as we all re-arrange
There’s been loss and there’s been sadness
as the pandemic’s taken hold
taking toll from everyone
from young to very old
I found myself writing
About somewhere I’d been
And all of the wonderful
Things there I’d seen
The joy and the richness
Of life beyond measure
Captured and held just
Like having treasure
I had a little dream
about the things I used to do
not so very long ago
but now complete taboo
Simple things like walking out
to town and wandering round
taking pleasure in the things
which in a charity shop I’d found
And when Monday was finished
with Tuesday begun
the February sunshine arrived
Still weak with the winter
bereft yet of warmth
at least it could say that it tried
I lived a little broken
like an old grey bag of bones
and despite the life around me
felt a long, long way from home
Abandoned to no purpose
each day was like the rest
and although the sun gave promise
it felt like second best
Whilst the year was still an infant
I looked up to the blue
when morning broke with sunshine
upon a year brand new
And the crystal strands of cobweb
caught right there in morning light
clarified that moment
for a truly lovely sight
Spoke to me of truth and hope
and of many joys to come
in this first year of the decade
which has only just begun
Whilst the year was still an infant
at the beginning of the year
a latticework of cobweb
I cam across out here
It was clearly now abandoned
yet retained a beauty there
so striking and so poignant
that I knew I had to share
For this is quite symbolic
the new from old begun
changing like the spider
and the many webs now spun
Whilst the year was still an infant
I spied a cobweb freshly spun
Reminded me of what was past
and what had just begun
Spoke to me of promise
and something fresh and new
The ‘gone before’ forgotten
with a dose of morning dew
A long shaft of sunlight
peirced the gloom
and lit up an otherwise
darkly clad room
It spoke of a promise
born on a smile
with a voice full of hope
I’d not heard in a while
n these early days
with hope and promise still fresh
from new year resolution
The light is still bright
as we raise an arm to shield
Squinting up into brightness
The promise over our house today
in the sky right after the rain
gave us both a feeling of joy
when it with its radiance came
The colour was vivid, the arc of it wide
and though brevity saw its demise
its purpose was clear, one of promise and hope
beneath it revealed to the wise