72 Miles From The Sea - Paul Curtis (desktop ebook reader TXT) 📗

caught abroad
On such a foul day as this
The winds whistle round the buildings
And make rag dolls of the trees
Being inside looking out is preferable
Warming by the fire with glass in hand
Loved ones safe about you
Ride out the storm in comfort
Until the stormy gales subside


THE SURREY HILLS

I walked along a hill top path
With my old dog Jake
Beneath a cloudless sky of azure blue
The path led us into a sparsely wooden copse
Its leafy canopy defused the strong sun
And provided welcome shade
I decided to rest a while in the cool shadows
I slipped off my back pack
And sat against a trees trunk
I wiped the sweat from my brow
Before taking a bottle from my pack
I poured water into a bowl for Jake
And took a generous swallow for myself
Then I lit my pipe and relaxed
In an aromatic cloud and enjoyed the scene
Specks of sunlight dappled the ground
And midges danced around the sunbeams
As Jake chased the shadows
The time came to move along
And we followed the path back into the sun
And onward along the ridge
After a long slow crawl up the ever steepening path
We reached the summit and were duly rewarded
To see the countryside stretching far to the south
Spread like a great patchwork quilt
This perfect view from the Surrey hills

THE STORM FRONT

The gulls screech and scream
Swooping above the cliff top
While white horses ride the waves below
As the tidal surge is broken to a stop

Fishing boats appear to dance
Driven by weather to the south
And make slow progress in the swell
Bobbing towards the yawning harbour mouth

As the weather quickly closes in
The gulls desert the cliff top
Making their way inland to safety
Waiting patiently for the storm to stop

OH MOTHER NATURE

Oh mother nature
You both care and nurture
Bursting out in spring,
When the songbirds sing
Bringing daffodils so bright
To fill me with delight,
They shine with ease
Bobbing in the breeze
Dancing as if one
As golden as the sun
Blossom fills the trees
Bright enough to tease
Before the blossom has to go
Like cherry pink snow
And after spring hors d’oeuvres
And starters have been served
You bring us summer fare
With fragrance in the air
Flowers of every shade and hue
From crimson red to violet blue
Then as September wends
And the main course ends
You take no time to rest
Giving the bounty of the harvest

I LOVE THIS LAND

I love this land, village and hamlet
Rose covered cottage, church and mill
I love this land, coast and country
Mountain and lake, vale and hill

I love this land, town and city
Seat of power, cathedral and mall
I love this land, north and south
River and stream, grand and small

I love this land, old and new
Castle and semi, factory and farm
I love this land, this England of mine
This modern, historic, country of charm


I MISS THE PLACE

I miss the place
Where I journeyed into this world
Where a loving mother
Kissed me and gently brushed my curls

I miss the place
Where mother taught me the joys of life
And my father
Taught me to seek harmony from strife

I miss the place
Where my school days first began
And those friends
That made up our inseparable band

I miss the place
Where my heart had an optimistic view
And I miss the face
Of my one and only love so true

I miss the place
Where summer days seemed without end
Where natures bounty
Spilled from the fields we had to tend

I miss the place
Where the bones of my parents lay
And the times
When our days were full with play

I miss the place
I knew before I grew into a man
And took up arms
To fight for the king in a foreign land

I miss the place
That is the home I shall never see again
Never smell the grasses green
Or taste those gentle summer rains

I miss that place
My distant home far across the sea
The place I left behind
So I could die fighting for the free


NEVIS

In the lochs reflection
Could be glimpsed
The gentle caress of clouds
Atop the granite peaks
Before they thickened
To hide the Ben
Then separated like parting friends
To reveal the stark silhouette
Against the blue
And through these inconsistent clouds
The sun would burst
Illuminating the glen
And its heathered hills
As the clouds moved west
The sunbeam moved
Like a torches light
And in the distance
The hills appeared to move
As if in a lantern show
Then on the freshening wind
From the west
Squally showers blew in
And the sun painted
A rainbow across the sky
And as quickly as it had arrived
The showers blew away
And the rainbow faded
Evaporating to nothing
Then the sun began to set
Beyond the western isles
And turned the sky red
With streaks of pink and gold
Decorating the whole sky
And when the sun sank
Beyond those misty isles
The night wrapped the glen
In its dark shroud


NATURAL WORLD

They say nature is perfect
They say nature is beautiful
But they are so wrong
Nature is ugly and brutal
Oh it looks pretty in a picture
I quite accept it all looks nice
But don’t be fooled
Nature will kill you in a trice
It doesn’t matter where you go
If you look closely enough
Something is eating something else
Nature is cruel and tough
Its dog eat dog its bird eat frog
Its fish eat fish its whale eat seal
In nature it seems to me
Everything is some body’s meal
So don’t try telling to me
That nature is perfect and wonderful
I don’t need the natural world
I can go to London if I want brutal

NEWLANDS CORNER

Newlands Corner
Is one of my most favourite places
I’ve always loved it there
When I look out across the patchwork
Of rolling Surrey Hills,
The chalk grasslands
The ancient woodlands
And the villages nestling there
I feel a deep calm and peace
Penetrating my soul
It’s almost overwhelming
Like the weight of the world
Is lifted from my shoulders
It as if His hand on my shoulder


THE LEGEND OF THE SILENT POOL

The amorous King John
Took by ungentlemanly force
The woodcutter’s daughter
And put her upon his horse
He took her from Albury village
To a place called the silent pool
The girl scared and crying
Prayed the Kings ardour had cooled
He pressed his intent upon her
So into the dark lake she fled
From his horse he drove her ever deeper
Until the poor girl was dead
Now on the silent pool at midnight
The maiden can be seen there
Where the amorous King John
Did drown the life from her


SOMETIMES THERE IS RAIN

Life cannot always be sunshine
Sometimes there is rain
But when both come together
Then beauty is our gain
As a rainbow is the result
Iridescent in the sky

THE CRUEL SEA

In the sunlight it flatters to deceive
But don’t be fooled by its calm exterior
For beneath the welcoming surface
You will succumb to its true nature
Its lures you into a false sense of security
Its intent is to drag you to its depths
Sap your strength, every ounce of energy
And squeeze from your body every breath
She will let you surface for a breath
Then drag you down again out of reach
Then when she has toyed with you enough
She dumps you lifeless on the beach

FOUR SEASONS

First love gave me springtime
And invigorated my life
It was summer in my heart
When you became my wife
Then in our autumn years
You were taken from my side
Now with my bitter loneliness
It’s in the winter that I reside
Imprint

Publication Date: 08-09-2010

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