Spring - Tony Gardner

As the seared and shriven flora
Grows to new exciting days
Warmer waves give birth to budding
Celandines in golden haze

Then wild and happy daffodils
Spread carpets there for us to see
And give Glory to the season when
All Life seems fresh and free

Hiding their shine in woodland
And under every tree
Is the shy, sweet smile of primrose
But it's there for all to see

Deer and badger, fox and woodmouse
All these creatures feel the rise
Of the temperature as Winter
Imperceptibly dies

All the golden springtime flowers
Cheer our hearts as Winter wanes
Raising hopes of Summer's glory
After Winter's wind and rains

Tony Gardner

Another precious year - Tony Bradley

Those hot, hazy days seem so distant now
bright blue skies, even the winds were warm,
and the sun slept little from its scarlet set
to another bright morning, a dazzling dawn.

But the sun soon slumbered, slow to rise,
and golden leaves glistened, jewelled by night's rain,
falling, twirling, they waltzed to Autumn's wind
leaving bristling bushes to face Winter again.

Now, frosty breezes begin their toil,
crispening a crust to slumbering soil
soon, plucky bulbs will peep, and the dark, stark trees
will herald Spring, again, with little green leaves.

Tony Bradley

The Isle With The Emerald Sea - Ian Duquemin

I sat on the sand on the edge of our land
And listened to seagulls a-singing
The hands of the church clock reached some unknown time
And the bells woke our world with their ringing
They reminded me then, of the home I once had
A home that once bragged of its beauty
Now all that is left are the memories I have
Of the isle with the emerald sea

The town comes alive with its cafes and bars
Where languages speak without meaning
I walk on the cobbles I walked as a child
Who thought that I'd still be a-dreaming?
I never believed that this change would have come
They shouldn't have stolen her beauty
Now all that is left are the memories I have
Of the isle with the emerald sea

I find me a seat, take the weight off my feet
And watch as the sun's slowly sinking
It seems many years since it burned in the sky
I wonder just what they were thinking?
We once had it all 'til they let it all fall
They just wouldn't let us be free
Now all that is left are the memories I have
Of the isle with the emerald sea

Ian Duquemin

The Cyberseas - Kathy Figueroa

I traverse the cyberseas
Where words surge, eddy, and flow
Daydreams fill skies above me
Nightmares lurk in depths below

I crest waves exultantly
And skirt whirlpools that appear
Navigate through glitch-filled storms
That rage in the cybersphere

An intrepid traveler
I long to keep on learning
The need for discovery
And knowledge keeps me yearning

And so, like a mariner
Or adventurer of old
I sail in search of treasure
One that’s far greater than gold

Kathy Figueroa

Retirement - Jenny Hamon

Retirement, oh how absurd
I’m far too young, it's just a word
Although it's just another year
The dreaded date's arrived I fear

Retirement is for the old
Who quietly slip into the mould
Of endless days and aimless ways
Of sitting in a fuddled daze

I'm not that old, you hear me cry
I'm still alive, not ready to die
I can't resign to the mindless doom
Of sitting in God's waiting room

I'll take these days to live life to the full
By taking on the horns of the bull
I have my mind and health and strength
So I'm going to live and spend my wealth

No time to write more poetry
With so much of the world to see
No, I'm not sitting on the fence
I'm spending the kid's inheritance

Jenny Hamon