1485

Jeremy Corbyn;

At last a choice for us all

Beyond the muppets.

Sibelius 4;

Music to help anyone

Commit suicide.

Brian Hick August 2015

©Sally Hick 28.8.26

 1484

Our garden's at it's best at Lammastide.

The burst of Spring has eased itself away

The hectic Summer growth has settled down

The beds are mellow, softened at the edge,

Colours calm yet eager to entice

A drone of bees and pairs of butterflies.

The pond lies empty, even the late frogs

Have disappeared into the undergrowth.

Our daily visitors peck casually at the grain

Or sit atop the fence to bask away

Untroubled moments in the teatime sun.

Sweet peas and hollyhocks try to outshine

The runner beans, the sun flowers by the fence.

A pair of cabbage whites dance near my head

Oblivious to my presence and delight.

            I sit untroubled, resting in the peace

            Which, like your love, I know need never cease.

Brian Hick August 2015

©copyright Sally Hick 20.7.26

 1483

A waiting room at the Eye Clinic

A child crying incessantly in A&E next door

A forty five minute delay

A silence between phone calls

A stream of names called out for treatment

A gradual emptying out

A check to see who's left

A wait

A distant voice drifting to the empty chairs

A doctor says goodnight

A cleaner empties the bins

Brian Hick August 2015

©copyright Sally Hick 10.7.26

 1482

Your Birthday crept up like the morning mist

Rolling in across a silent sea -

At  first unnoticed, yet so fine it closed

About us, and now everything must be

In place, precise, ready to celebrate

Another year of grace - another year

Of subtle change - as all around evolves

While we, seemingly ageless, still appear

Untouched by time, events or circumstance -

As young at heart as were erstwhile,

Before the internet or mobile phone,

When simpler things could cause us both to smile,

            When silence said far more than 'I love you'

            And closeness, more than words could ever do.

Brian Hick August 2015

©copyright Sally Hick 8.7.26

 1481

Thoughts from the Isle of Wight

A sudden shower, we dive into the tea room,

But it soon stops and sun breaks though the clouds;

The guide is telling children of lemurs

Gibbons, squirrel monkeys and meercats

While fathers fret the lack of internet

And mothers sort out snacks and fizzy drinks.

The park is pleasant, wide vistas and the space

To wander round the enclosures where the apes

Sit and eat, or spa in mock aggression

Till, on an instant, they stop and scratch, before

Carefully picking out and eating fleas,

Owls in single cages sit and wait

For closing time when moonlight will entice

Small rodents to erupt across the floor,

Unsuspecting snacks for eagle eyes

Alert to every movement way below.

Close by, the Garlic Farm sits on a site

Which has been tilled for close three thousand years,

First families on the Isle grew wheat and sheep

Roamed across the downlands to the sea.

Swallows skim across the fields which held

The villages and homes of settlers

Arriving long before Roman or Celt

Their thoughts and language close beyond the sight

Of standing stone or barrow on the height,

I hear grasshoppers somewhere near my feet

And cabbage whites hover along the runs

Of wild flowers lingering below the hedge.

Clouds may darken distant hills but here

The dappled sunlight smiles upon the land

And all is happy in the drowsy heat.

And you?  Where are you in all of this?

The clichés of the summer indicate

That all is well within this rural world

Dedicated to the visitor

Or passing tourist, content to spend their time

Within the showers of an August day.

Last year's temperatures eased out the thought

And for a moment we could simply hope

Heat might become the norm for holidays

But here it rains enough that we recall

Summer's always been a fickle friend.

So do we complain and blame you for

The changes we experience hour by hour,

The sudden flash of sunlight or downpour

Between the passing clouds and chilly eves?

We could, but it would be a waste of time

Frustrating for ourselves and not a wit

Effective to ameliorate the wash

Conflicting passions pummel at our brains

When all we really need is to accept

That what is, is, and then let it rest

Knowing your love's working for the best.

Brian Hick August 2015

©copyright Sally Hick 1.7.26

 1480

Pompey

And once more

That Pizza Express

Moment.

But,

Will this

Ever be

As Valuable

As a few lines

By Picasso?

One thing I do know

This won't pay the bill.

Brian Hick July 2015

©copyright Sally Hick 29.6.26

The Pizza Express moment occurred while waiting for the next course, with the extra napkin enticing Brian to write something on it. Sally

 1479

We are surrounded

By children on holiday

All making a din.

Brian Hick July 2015

©copyright Sally Hick 27.6.26