An Easter Message

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Resilience

Ripples in Life

Gratitude

Are we grateful for what we’ve been given right now
For the excellence that lies all about
Are we focussed on good and not upon bad
Are we willing to sing and to shout
About even the tiniest littlest thing
That brings fortune and favour our way
Be it the sun in the sky or the birds on the wing
Or the wonder that’s filling today

Be it a stranger’s kind word or a hug from a friend
A meal on the table at night
A song or a dance, a smile or a glance
Whatever brings in joy and delight
Be it a nudge in our thoughts that brings in relief
For even a second or less
To refresh and renew everything that we do
With gratitude and heart filled thankfulness

For to dwell on these things that may not seem big
Or even seem what we are owed
Is to lift up our spirit, to freshen our souls
With appreciation and love thus bestowed
And thus we go hence right into this day
With joy in our mind and not dread
With blessing abundant at the fore of our thoughts
With a glow and lighter step in our tread.

Diamond in the Rough

Landscape littered with refuse
Where crow flies overhead
Where vermin scavenges for food
Where others dare not tread

Where stench of yesterday is thrown
Out on the garbage heap
Where foul odour lingers in the nose
Where rot and decay steeps

Yet midst this putrefaction
A diamond in the rough
Lies hidden, lost, abandoned
Unrefined; not buffed

But still a diamond all the same
A gem with so much more
Potential, worth, capacity
If just realised and restored

And likewise, there will be those days
Those months and maybe years
When the jewel within is tarnished by
Many wet and salty tears

Those times when circumstance may yield
Turbulence and unrest
But see those times as polishing
The inner latent best

So that the diamond in the rough
Will stand out undisguised
A precious stone shining so bright
Potential realised

When I Am Old

I’m not going to be that old lady
With nothing but gossip to while away hours
Planted in front of the TV soaps
Who plays bingo or drinks sherry
Wearing strings of pearls
With rouged cheekbones and painted nails

Instead my days will draw to a close
Like a vibrant painting
Where splashes of life
And streaks of colour
Will splatter in abstract abandon
As the ink dares to cross the lines

The twilight years where being me
Casts away the cloak of expectation
And dances in the meadow of inspiration
Shouting poetic expression across the plains
And where fresh air rouges my face
Whilst bubbling springs wash over my bare feet

And I will run through forests of books
The inscriptions of the wise
In a quest for eternal knowledge
Jumping into the deepest oceans
To swim against the tide
To bathe in enlightened waters

For the spirit of ageing
Will bloom like the autumn cherry
Fighting the tides of winter
In one final exclamation
Of everything that is life
And of everything that makes life great!

A Vote That Counts

Labour are red
The Tories are blue
Vote however you like
For the fact that holds true
Is that tomorrow; next week
When the new PM’s in
It will still be the case
That you can still win
If you don’t blame the outcome
On a whole load of rot
But focus instead
On the skills that you’ve got
To focus, work hard
With resolve and with might
For the gold that you seek
Is intrinsic; out of sight
Being contained in each one of us
For better or bad
So dig deep and discover
With a heart that is glad
To not see the red, and neither the blue
But the spectrum inside you
And make that work for you
For politicians will come
And then they will go
And no matter how much
Each manifesto
Makes great promises to match
Your wishes and wills
Or tries to deliver
Through political frills
Labour will stay red
The Tories will stay blue
But the rainbow that gives most
Will be always in you

Lord Listen!

I believe I missed the email
That came straight from the Lord
Saying “Reply with hallelujahs
To confirm that you’re on board
To tick terms and conditions
And to say that indeed you
Feel that your faith is strong and sure
And eternally true”

But instead I didn’t answer
And for seven long years
He sent a plague of ailments
And a host of all my fears
Called poverty and homelessness
Divorce and hard up times
Sickness, death and famine
And other types of grime

And so I said, “Lord listen!
I’ve really had enough
Of all the bad you’ve dumped on me
The really rotten stuff
You’ve landed on my doorstep
For you’ve treated me badly
And what I just don’t get now
Is how you say that you love me”

“So, can you be more gentler
Show your hand of kindness please
Less sending all the bugs and such
Stop being such a tease
Let me know that what you say you are
Is genuinely right
For from my corner it appears
You’re really not in sight!”

To which He smiled and nodded
Said “Do you just not see
That in this time of trouble
You’ve grown through adversity
You’ve learnt about resilience
You’ve paved a way and more
For the wounds and scars have left you so
Much better off for sure!”

“For when all’s said and all is done
And you really, truly see
Less any faith or any god
You have just innately
A tool kit that you can draw on
Whenever you’re willing
For you are blessed with all you need
To get through anything!”

And the moral of this story
Whether times be good or bad
Is focus on your strengths for sure
Not on the latest fad
And see that wealth and riches
Don’t come from banks or gold
But are harboured in your heart and mind
And are always yours to hold!

Kindness

Mirroring a pure heart
That uplifts and encourages
With patience and inclusivity
Not stripping down another to smooch with self
Reflective and enduring
Each and every day

A Moment

I sail away across the plain
From daydreams pleasant shores
On boat of blossom in the breeze
O’re fields of green decor
Midst heavens kiss upon the earth
In rolls of clear blue sky
And all is pure tranquility
Such peace and calm the prize

I drift into another realm
Where memories float too
My present vision; bright and clear
As each one comes in view
And cross my face a smile spreads out
For joy such as this is
Has grace bestowed so endlessly
Unbounded happiness.

I see a bird upon the wing
A swallow and a lark
And glance a pheasant strut on by
In the distance – a dog barks
I spot the hawthorn burst it’s bud
A yellow daffodil
Trumpet in silence on the verge
Announcing the spring bill

And though soon I must go back to
The realms of reality
I take this moment, lap it up
Refresh that inner me
For there is nothing greater than
The chance to sit; admire
Nature at her fresh very best
And feel so much inspired