THE VISIT

We met in the later years of life,

Not in spring, when life is young & nature in bloom,

But when leaves were turning from golden to brown.

And nature wore her finest gown.

We gave lots of thoughts to what might have been,

Would I have been your only wife,

Or would you just have passed me by,

Without  a glance; ………….without me ever being seen?

In that other time, long past,

In younger days, when busy with your daily tasks,

With anticipation of what was to come,

And later years had not revealed the furrows of lifes twisting path.

Do you recall a shadow passing across your minds eye?

And, in awareness, as you turned, a soft touch upon your cheek,

Seemed that a butterfly, with gossamer wings

had  brushed your soul, while floating by.

Perchance, you will remember needing solitude & peace,

As life presented you with woes, not the solace that you seeked

                 And the  heavens were alive with mystery, and light,

But not the answers you so needed, appeared  in mind or sight

You thought a hand had touched your hair,

Just a whisper on the breeze,

But when you looked,….…………there was no one there.

Just the laughter of the leaves.

Think back, when walking on that distant shore,

And life was good in all it gave,

You lost your footing in the sand,

And

As you sank beneath the waves

Was lifted safe from Neptune’s door 

And,

Unnoticed,……….were  the footsteps left beside you on the floor.

My love enabled me to find you in your finest years,

You were not familiar & yet…I felt the bond, the closeness of the heart,

And moved to tears

               I wondered if you would remember in your later years,

And recall my visits through the mists of time,

This  gentle shadow walking by your side.

The future beckons, but is soon the past,

Can there be a present,

When time moves so fast?

Will we know our destiny, before gone too  far,

The meaning of life, from the Garden of Eden to the end of the world,

From the birth of a flower, to the death of a star,

The  beginning of time, to the end of time.

Ah;…………you know me now,

And, when winter comes, you won’t dismiss the brush upon your lips as the first fresh fall of snow,

It will be & has always been, the love of your life,

This girl who may have been your wife,

Watching & caring, from the wings,

Enjoying this love that makes our hearts sing,

Virginia Saunders October 2009

A long poem about  love , surviving through time. I got the idea from a film  about  an older  man  travelling through time  to visit his  love in her younger years, although this is told from  a  woman’s perspective.  She mentions  occasions when she has  been looking after him, unbeknown to him , keeping him safe, all through his past.

THE MISSING

   It was the best of times……………………….

Realisation of a feeling so deep,

Heart & mind racing

interrupted deep sleep,

Thoughts, words and endearments tumbling 

from lips

that just longed to touch & to kiss

this stranger, 

who’d appeared in my midst.

Yearning & longing & pain……so much pain,

For a love that was distant

That may never come again.

Bitter sweet dreams,  

Snatched words, racing hearts,

Constant thoughts of living apart.

Words explicit & emotional, 

A high, not known before.

A wave of erotic love together

on an imaginary romantic shore. 

Passion flaring like a red hot flame

Knowing………

Life would surely, never be the same again. 

Spring became summer,

Away in sunny climes

Still painful & pining…………surely not the best of times?

   It was the worst of times…………………….

Messages unanswered,

No time for a chat, 

Too much contact, no more time for all that.

No more love & endearments, 

Snatched words, racing hearts,

Just brisk notes of indifference,

A heart torn apart,

Left on the doorstep, not told to come in,

Disappeared, gone…………….in the beat of a wing.

No more music

No more laughs,

No more talking

When the daylight hours have passed,

No more Treasure, goodnight,

Sleep tight,

 no more…………..

Just a glimmer appears,

When the day turns to night, or loneliness touches your soul.

You think of this girl

 but it quickly turns cool,

Like frost on the window of hope

or 

ice on a deep sheltered pool.  

Your expression of missing is fleet,

It appears in your consciousness,

And in the space of your heartbeat

has disappeared……….. gone

All feeling extinguished

like the flame of a distant memory

or an old forgotton  song.

 It was pure while it lasted,

Never thought it would end,

Hard to go from a lover

 To, well,………. just a friend.

All trust has gone,

All faith swept aside, 

A deep yearning for something

swept away on the tide.

Please tell, how to mend a broken heart,

How to erase a memory, 

For I  know not where to start.

To forget all that has gone before,

Now you’ve finally closed that door.

This gentle shadow still walks by your side,

This girl who may have been your bride,

Still watching & caring from the wings,

Missing the love that made her heart sing.

Virginia Saunders June 2010

A  follow on from the last poem, when suddenly, it all turns sour,  and the  door closes on the relationship. A couple of very sad poems.

A SELECTION OF FOUR POEMS by HOLLY

A NIGHT IN THE BLITZ

My grand daughter, Holly, age 8, has a flair for poetry.They had a learning curve on WW2  at school, which encouraged Holly to write this poem. 

FLOWERS

                                     This was Holly's first poem, about nature and the garden 

MY EARTH

 Reading about the demise of the rain forests &  never to be had again, wild life, prompted this poem.  The declining values of  many people.

GOING HOME

A poem written for my mum’s funeral. She wanted me to put down all that she felt towards the end of her life, & she wanted it read out on that day.

OF NOTHING TO DREAM

"Of Nothing To Dream" a sad poem with joy at the end. I have never agreed with caged birds.  For a bird with  the ability to soar into the sky, it is a terrible life to be confined to a small wire cage. , with nothing to do all day, year in year out

REFLECTIONS

 A poem about betrayal & regret in love.  How you cant go back, and repair what has passed.