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

 1476

For you are here - felt it from the start

Even though the gale which broke the day

Came near to tearing us apart -

for you are here.

At first I thought you were too far away

And I'd be left in silence and alone

Until your gentle cloud of love held sway

Enfolding me, allowing me to hone

A listening heart, receptive to the way

That leads me to yourself - and we are one

For you are here.

Brian Hick June 2015

©copyright Sally Hick 20.6.26

 1413

Christchurch bells toll out the quarter hours

Across the silence of the city night.

Two-fifteen, two-thirty, three o'clock,

I lie and wait, contented for the light

To cross the Liffey, climb Fishamble Street

Putting dawn's grey emptiness to flight.

Waiting is easy, waking brings back pain,

Recalling all the things I haven't done

And those I did so poorly I regret

The fact I tried, preferring to have won

At very little than fail at something which

Just puts me off before I have begun.

But the night has passed, the day is here,

Your love abides, so I've no need to fear.

Brian Hick November 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 19.11.25

 1412

You spoke to me today

            So often

I felt bombarded by

            The thoughts

And love which overflowed

            My heart.

Brian Hick November 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 17.11.25

 1401

You seem closer to

Me at Ashburnham than when

I'm in Asda; why?

Brian Hick September 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 22.10.25

 1399

Now that I'm free to choose and you're

No longer ham-strung by my stubborn, crass,

And often childish whims, perhaps we can

Begin to make some sense of what we're doing.

It seems some people don't appreciate

Our offer to speak out, so we must find

The smaller groups, lunch clubs, U3As,

Men's Breakfasts, Ladies Literary Teas,

Anywhere they'll listen, and at least

We'll get to talk to somebody who cares.

But is this enough when I can see

There's so much more, out there, to be done?

             Inspire me with a hope that what I do

             Will make a difference, in the end, for you.

Brian Hick September 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 17.10.25

Possibly a time when Brian had resigned from the Unitarian church and put his efforts into raising money and support for the homeless.

 1391

I love you, and that's all you need to know,

The trouble is you'd rather not believe

It's that easy, that there are no rules,

No footnotes or appendices to grieve

Or block this quiet gift from me to you.

No matter what you think or how you act,

No matter what you did or thought to do -

No matter that your intellect is wracked

By doubts, confusions and endless attacks -

They'll come to nothing when enraptured by

A love far greater than created time,

Enduring even though your body die;

For unconditional is what I said

Know you are loved and do not question why.

Brian Hick August 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 1.10.25

1386

Peace has come into my heart.

After all the stress of work,

The subtle arguments,

The careless words;

Peace has settled in a way I have not known before.

I try to stay on top, make things turn out

The way I think they should

But even when, sometimes, they do

The acid in my gut

 Tells me it is not so.

But now

That I have stopped trying to win,

To be the boss, always in control,

Nothing has changed

Except

The acid drops

Are gone.

I sleep at night;

I feel relaxed all day.

The work gets done but there is time to read,

To listen to the Proms, to simply sit

And bask.

I sense you smile at my stupidity

Thinking that being in charge was up to me.

Brian Hick July 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 23.9.25

 

 1385

Shanklin - July 14

The tide has turned and here beyond the waves

A line of sand lies warming in the sun.

Cool on my feet, it could be the seabed

Full fathom five and far below where fishes

Choose the height or depth at which they swim

Move freely in between, while I am bound

To squat close to the all too solid earth.

I stand amid the waves but my feet drift

And sink as sand dissolves,

Pebbles shifting with the morning tide.

While all above is stable in the breeze

And statue-like I seem to be unmoved

Everything below the water's edge

Drifts out of focus and the clarity

Of air and sun is dissipated, until

All dissolves into a single whole,

Translucent, changing, yet more unified

Than the stark contrasts of the air-born world.

Ever-shifting, always out of reach,

If I sense you, you are gone before

I can pin you down,

And eve now, seventy years on,

You're still elusive and the simple faith

I hoped would come with age

Seems further away than ever - even though

I sought you in the charismatic heights,

Dived into the depths of liturgy,

Walked pilgrimages, sought the shrines of saints -

All helped, but did not last,

For while I knew you lay behind them all

The waters never cleared to let me see

A permanence, a rock on which to stand;

Only the shifting sands which seems to say

Give in, let go, there is no other way.

Brian Hick July 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 19.9.25

 1377

Sunday morning shouldn't be a pain;

After all, you've been with me each day

And every time I've stopped to talk to you

You've always listened, as if what I say

Matters, and you'll give it some thought

Before you answer, even when you see

Me wayward, selfish, childish, or what's worse

The opposite of what you've hoped for me.

But Sunday - oh dear, here we go again

Pious thoughts and pious intonation

As prayers and hymns and words regurgitate

Drowning out your voice through invocation.

Maybe I should go to my own room

To find your light within its gentle gloom.

Brian Hick July 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 3.9.25

 1374

Be with me, I need you by my side;

I need you even when you do not speak,

I need to know that your love will abide.

Be with me

Even when I think I'm at my peak

When everything is flowing with the tide

Or when I'm devastated and too weak

To argue for myself against the snide

Remarks, the callous ones who dub me freak.

Be with me.

Brian Hick August 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 28.8.25

 1372

Switch off the CD player

Unplug the MP3

Turn off the television

Come, turn your mind to me.

Turn off that conversation

You planned but didn't make

Forget the acid put-down

Fired up to make them quake.

Cut through the endless buzzing

Of things you didn't do

Drop all the endless thinking

That stops me getting through.

For only when you're silent

When the birds begin to sing

And you hear the rabbit eating

Can I start to bring

My peace to still your yearning

My love to fill your soul

My joy to surprise you

Myself to make you whole.

Brian Hick August 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 25.8.25

 1369

I will seek you where I know you'll be

Down at the water's edge, beside the sea,

Upon the cliff top, where the morning breeze

Cools the air and drifts towards the trees

Which rest in blossom and your spring's new green

Before summer's joy and those unseen,

Unnoticed moments of continuing life

Inevitably unfolding without strife.

Each tiny atom, or the eternal round,

Reflecting all that is, and all I've found

Searching for you, until you found me,

Touched my heart and set my spirit free;

And here I am, surrounded by your love,

From deep in ocean's depth to heaven above.

Brian Hick July 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 16.8.25

 1368

Alpha & Omega

I know you love the silence and the word that can't be heard

That slipping into stillness to rise up, like a bird

Circling the hill tops, safe at the edge of thought,

Where casual adversity melts off, as the fraught

And fractious din of endless conversations disappear

Into the ocean far below or up into the air

Which effortlessly cradles me until I reach the place

Where all barriers lie broken and we are face to face.

Here is where my heart is, here I long to be,

The transforming awareness that there's only you and me

And, when you release me, return me to my work,

No matter what the problem, the upsets that may lurk

To trip me or dissuade me from following the way,

I'll always have the silence you gave to me today,

This wordless wild conviction of overflowing love

From deep below the ocean to the heavens far above.

Love does nto need explaining, love does not make demands

Love exists in giving, in meeting the commands

Of gentle expectations, to succour and relieve,

To laugh with those rejoicing, to grieve with those who grieve;

Love can never censure, love does not complain

Love flows through me unceasing its influence the same

As when I first encountered its touch upon my heart

And knew there was no turning back, no chance that we might part.

And now within this silence, I sense your gentle voice,

A whisper in the tree-tops, a calling to rejoice

In all you have created, all that comes to me,

All that has departed, all that will ever be,

For there is no beginning, as there will be no end,

No time, no space, no limits, no boundaries to offend,

No need for forgiveness, no need to lose or win,

For you, and you alone, are where I end and I begin.

Brian Hick July 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 13.8 25

 1363 (answer to 1362?)

Why do you not listen when I speak,

Complaining that I'm deaf to all your prayers,

Shouting I don't listen, do not seek

To touch your heart and soothe away your cares?

I share your pain; when you're alone I'm there

Beside you, though your anger shuts your ears

To understand that I always care,

Could any moment wash away your fears;

But I can't force you to let me come in -

The handle of this door is on your side -

I'll go on knocking but I cannot win

Your love by force, no matter that I died

To show you that love costs and always will.

Our selfless love will lead to Calvary's Hill.

Brian Hick July 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 1.8.25

 1359

Men!

Why do men always talk as if they know?

Ok, I am as guilty as the rest

But listening is terrifying when

A man sets forth ideas, which, at best,

Are cobbled from dubious web-site or,

Worse still, procured from Twitter or Facebook,

Then pontificated as the Truth,

Regardless of his partner's dubious look.

Why do we do it? Why do we go on

As if we know it all, when truth to tell,

We've not a clue and this is just hot air

To justify ourselves while our head's swell?

You know the truth, and smile behind your hand,

At all men who think they understand.

Brian Hick July 2013

©copyright Sally Hick 25.7.25

 1294

Of course you're there but I will still wait

Until you tell me what I have to do,

Like some old prophet searching for the bait

To reel in converts daily, two by two.

Your silence in this noise of summer days

Rests on my heart, knowing you're aware

I'm eager to give more than simple praise

And worship, if you need me to share

The joy that comes from following the Way

The joy I feel in your abiding love

The joy that never fails or says me nay

The joy that floods like sunlight from above.

            Your silence speaks more life than life can bring

            Turning bleak winter to eternal spring.

Brian Hick July 2013

©copyright Sally Hick 14.7.25

 1289

There are only two

Things that make life worth living;

You - and Shakespeare!

Brian Hick June 2013

©copyright Sally Hick 2.7.25

 1287

You have a sense of humour - well, of course,

Given the dire vicissitudes of life

Where everything seems to go from bad to worse;

You have a sense of humour.

Just when it seems that despair was rife,

There was no hope, life lay under a curse,

Up you pop and sort out all our strife,

Answering prayer, cutting to the source

Of disaffection with a Shepherd's knife

That heals, without an inkling of remorse.

You have a sense of humour.

Brian Hick June 2013

©copyright Sally Hick 28.6.25

1285

This is not for you.

It is for you alone who

I will never know.

Brian Hick June 2013

©copyright Sally Hick 23.6.25