1190

To the Master of Vectis

I'll set Medusa where you lay to dine

To ward off any evil that may chance,

With gifts from Ceres, Attis and the winds

Above a band of sea folk to entrance.

I will set Orpheus to guard your door,

Surrounded by the animals you love,

The monkey that you found in Appledoor,

Your rabbit and Britannia's turtle dove.

I'll give you gladiators in a fight

Gullus in his costume for the play

And Bacchus to carouse into the night

Thanksgiving for the wine and for the hay.

All this with scrolls like vines to link the stories

With frescoes to refelct their marbled glories.

My great-grandfather set up these mosiacs

And we've the tablets that he left behind

With instructions...

Brian Hick August 2012

©copyright Sally Hick 2.7.24

 1190

To the Master Builder

We'd like the floors to show what we believe,

Not arrogantly, but so that our friends

Will know as they are welcomed and received

That kindness and acceptance to the end

Are at the heart of all that keeps us true,

Whether in the fields of ripening corn,

The cattle on the hills, or ale we brew

As our forefathers have done since that dawn

When they first settled Vectis and these hills

Were gradually shaped by Ceres' hand

Into the pastures and the wooded rills

Which succour all who venerate this land.

            Is this too much to ask or can you find

            Designs which will entrance a working mind?

Brian Hick August 2012

©copyright Sally Hick 1.7.24