1174
Write whatever comes the teacher said -
But would it be enough simply to pick
One of the ideas that fill my head.
Write whatever comes
I knew that had to be some sort of trick,
Some sleight of hand, which would soon have led
To doggerel or the inevitably slick
But bland lines of a birthday card - the dead
And lifeless stanzas which may seem to tick
The boxes, but which real poets dread.
Write whatever comes.
Brian Hick June 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 31.5.24
1171
Garsington
It could be November.
Low broken clouds threaten
Winds break up the valley
Kites risk the rain
Circling the park
The orchestra look sullen
Trudging up around the lake
Local scouts
Are pleased to take our bags
Chattering with enthusiasm of Iceland
We're in tent thirteen
Which keeps out all the draughts
As we enjoy our roasted artichokes
And Kalkidis olives
All picked up from Waitrose
At Oxford Services
On our way up from Hastings
Where the weather, when we left,
Was warm and wonderful.
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 28.5.24
1167
Forgive?
It makes no sense;
No system could survive
Based on forgiveness.
How could the law endure
Continued not guilties,
Or accept
That any act,
Regardless of how foul,
Be nullified
By that simplistic word
It is forgiven.
Yet You, in all your wisdom,
Far above our human lives,
Far beyond the limits of our minds
Continually pour your mercy down.
Oh show us in our darkness
That candle of your love,
That mercy may enlighten all our lives.
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 21.5.24
1166
Summer hols with H
Soon it will be summer and I yearn
For days unfettered by the cultural grind,
Released from concerts and the need to earn
A few more Brownie points if I can find
Something new to put upon the web,
Better to be on the Isle of Wight
With Hannah in the endless search for peb-bles
Or strolling along Shanklin Chine by night;
Better to be sitting by the pool
Glass in hand and paper on my knee,
Knowing nothing matters and no rule
Will jolt me from this inactivity.
After all these years perhaps I've found
A way to stop. Now that seems quite profound.
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 20.5.24
Hannah is our granddaughter.
1165
Post Jubilee
How strange I have not felt the need to write;
Too busy marking papers, while the round
Of celebrations for the Jubilee -
Garden parties, wall-to-wall TV -
All conspired to blot out and confound
Occasional ideas which broke the light.
But now as things calm down and we return
To some sense ot normality, I find
Unexpected lines forming again,
Like droplets running down the window pane,
Until they coalesce within my mind
Into this verse, for you to read in turn.
This may not be a masterpiece but, hey,
I'm glad this sonnet saw the light of day.
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 17.5.24
1164
Jubilee
A day excursion on the train
We've had sandwiches and flasks of tea,
So lets just hope it doesn't rain,
We're going to the Jubilee!
Quickly - there's the guard's last call,
There's hardly room for you and me.
But no one seems to mind at all
We're going to the Jubilee!
Look mm over there, she's dressed
In Union Jacks and flags like me;
Hush dear please don't be a pest,
We're all going to the Jubilee!
Grandma tells us that she saw
The coronation on TV
With Mrs Bright who lived next door,
She's going to the Jubilee!
They say there will be more ships moored
Along the Thames for all to see
Than Handel's time or George 111.
And they went to the Jubilee!
And in years to come will they
Take their children on their knee
To recall, as we today,
How we went to the Jubilee!
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 16.5.24
1163
It must be great to be like Tennyson
Or match a Wordsworth's long romantic line
To ensure each reader grasped the meaning
And hearts were moved by imagery and rhyme.
So why it is that everything I write
Revolves around the trivia of the day
Rather than eschewing what is light
To concentrate on what I'd like to say?
And while I yearn to set the world ablaze
With insights into what is good and true
My verse it full of moans about the trains
Or packets that need scissors to undo.
Yet if my being grumpy raises smiles,
Perhaps it outruns serious verse by miles?
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 15.5.24
Moving on (12)
21 5 12
You'd think by now I should have had the time
To relax and turn our move to rhyme;
Yet, though it all went smoothly, everything
Is out of joint and, what's more worrying,
While simple things like scissors or a spoon
Are lurking somewhere in the other room,
Those items undeserving of the light
Refuse to disappear from our sight.
Even trying to make a cup of tea
Becomes a battle with my memory,
As if each tiny tea-bag thinks it's fun
To hide away and keep me on the run.
But then that's nothing when I come to think
Of phone lines and computers on the blink.
23 5 12
A day in Brighton, not that far to roam
But it's worth it, just to come back home.
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 9.5.24
Moving on (11)
15 5 12
We're in - but not before the removal van
Needed to shift the cars before they began
To unload everything across the ramp
Which managed to save our things from getting damp
Given that it showered most of the day -
And just as we arrived - but then ok
We're in - and only one glass sacrificed
An offering which we hope will suffice.
17 5 12
No heating,
No hot water,
No phone for at least a week
Not sure about the oven
Yet
Forty-eight hours on
Everything is unpaced - well almost
The garage is not yet full
The grass is cut
The saucepans are hung up
Most of our clothes are sorted out
There's champagne in the fridge
Hannah is impressed
But we still can't find the lead for the kettle.
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 8.5.24
Moving on (10)
13 5 12
A day to go and most things are now packed.
Each room heaves with cardboard boxes stacked
Almost too high and loosened clothing snags
On recycling and mounds of plastic bags.
The family all arrive so we can go
For Sunday lunch together before we show
Them how to get to 146 and where
To park the car, when they are next there.
Sam has spent the weekend to ensure
His collections are all quite secure.
14 5 12
Two men arrive from Chapman's and proceed
To pack up all the rest, and do not leave
A thing untouched, and all within two hours!
I put a note out, hoping that the showers
Will not wash away a parking ban
In the space that's needed for the van.
The chairs are in the road as it gets dark
Hoping the van won't need to double park
Tomorrow morning, especially as Tuesdays
Are rubbish and recycling collection days.
Sam is back from work hoping that he
Can finish packing before the clock strikes three.
I
And so to bed, with night-cap in a cup
As all the glass is packed and every drop
That's going with us is snugly packed away;
So I must finish off the Scotch - wahay!
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 7.5.24
1159
13 May 2012
When we came here in nineteen-eighty-four
Would we have guessed that twenty-eight years on
We'd only just be trouping out the door
For the last time, and when we are gone
Will memories of these years just disappear?
For this house was never ours, though we thrived
A few year here, as many did before
And many yet may do if it survives.
Memory travels with us, all unaware;
Those tiny fragments of so many days
Known only to ourselves, unless we share
With those who can recall our family ways.
Solstice, birthdays, Sunday lunch with friends
These last forever - such love never ends.
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 6.5.24
1158
Evesham
St Lawrence's - redundant - but still worth
A detour for the Saga parties who
The locals hope will supplement the dearth
Of foreign tourists put off by the queue
To get into the country at Heathrow.
James is there to greet them at the door
Offering to guide so that they'll know
Something of its history before
They wander for themselves to view the glass,
Modern for the most part, but in place
With Early English tracery and the mass
Of arches which enclose this quiet space
Where peace continues even if the church
Has long since left the building in the lurch.
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 3.5.24
Moving on (9)
7 5 12
We're off to Stratford, but Sam needs to know
Where to put the boxes or to stow
His stuff once he's removed it from the attic,
Sorted it out, then carefully repacked it.
8 5 12
Chapman's call us early on to say
They'll deliver boxes on Friday
So we start to pack up what we can
Before they come on Tuesday with the van.
10 5 12
A form from RB which we need to sign
To transfer No5 and thus consign
Twenty-eight years of family history
To a single entry in local registry.
Two letters from Sky, saying again
That they will be there when we move in
For all that's needed is a simple tweak
Although the phone will take another week.
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 2.5.24
Moving on (8)
We have exchanged!! All's done for good or ill;
Now all we have to do is pay the bill.
Meanwhile, I spend the morning filling in
Endless forms on-line, as we begin
To contact the bureaucratic world
Who insist each item be approved -
Previous address or mother's maiden name -
Before my driving licence can be changed;
And every site has its own special plan
To make contact as difficult as it can.
Given they know us all, in any case,
Could they not simply change our data base
With one swift click at Cheltenham GCHQ
Then we ourselves would have far less to do?
Chapman's have confirmed that they will pack
Our books, our china, pictures and wine rack,
And all the frames of family photographs
Which should give the packers a good laugh.
Wrote a cheque for over eight thousand quid
So RB can finalise, with nothing hid,
All docs in place, consummatus est,
But moving is now left to our behest.
Brian Hick May 2012
©copyright Sally Hick 1.5.24
