General Chat

Kitty, thank you very much for posting 'From the Shadows'. We were in the same position, my mother had Senile Dementia, and gradually withdrew into her own confused little world.So very, very sad.No-one deserves to go that way.

Eileen x

Once I saw a worm
wriggling on his belly
I thought he'd like to come inside
and see what's on the telly!

Spike Milligan.

I like the simple ones!

Nudge for Stan

xx

hi
I heard this last night in the film "In Her Shoes"


i carry your heart with me


i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)


by e e cummings

Sue

My favourite..............anyone, like me, watching a loved one being swallowed by this dreadful illness will understand.


From The Shadows

How can you say there is no way that I remember Dad
‘Cause I don’t know him when I look in his eyes, you moan and cry “How sad!”
He’s there in my walk, my attitude, and sideways glancing eye
He’s there when I do, he’s there when I don’t, but especially when I try
I don’t have Alzheimer’s like you say, I don’t have it you see
That’s not exactly how it works, Alzheimer’s has me
Remember back when I was well. I loved to make new friends?
It’s still the same, I am still me, it’s the memory that ends
Come inside, introduce yourself, we’ll start every day anew
I can get love from a stranger, even if that stranger is you
I know it seems it’s all for naught, that I can’t remember when
But if you’ll remember for me, you can tell me the story again
Remember the wonder of faraway, and a new place every day
Walk me through that wonder; tell me it’s ok
If you cry and mourn before I’m gone, I’ll be more confused and frightened
But if you help me carry on, you’ll walk away enlightened
In a way, you see, I’m really blessed, and glad to be alive
‘Cause God took my memories early, so they’ll be there when I arrive
He felt the need, I do believe, to share the life I’ve known
And keep it safe, till once again, the memories are my own

By Larry Freeze, for a friend who has a loved one with Alzheimer’s


I love you Mum

xx

thanks again everyone for your support. Also the beautiful poetry.

Sue

Just some of it.
The Song of Hiawatha
By the shore of Gitche Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
At the doorway of his wigwam,
In the pleasant Summer morning,
Hiawatha stood and waited.
All the air was full of freshness,
All the earth was bright and joyous,
And before him, through the sunshine,
Westward toward the neighboring forest
Passed in golden swarms the Ahmo,
Passed the bees, the honey-makers,
Burning, singing in the sunshine.
Bright above him shone the heavens,
Level spread the lake before him;
From its bosom leaped the sturgeon,
Sparkling, flashing in the sunshine;
On its margin the great forest
Stood reflected in the water,
Every tree-top had its shadow,
Motionless beneath the water.
From the brow of Hiawatha
Gone was every trace of sorrow,
As the fog from off the water,
As the mist from off the meadow.
With a smile of joy and triumph,
With a look of exultation,
As of one who in a vision
Sees what is to be, but is not,
Stood and waited Hiawatha.

NONSENSE POEM

One fine day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight,
Back to Back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other.

One was blind and the other couldn’t see
So they chose a dummy for a referee.
A blind man went to see fair play;
A dumb man went to shout “Hooray”.

A paralysed donkey passing by
Kicked the blind man in the eye,
Knocked him through a nine inch wall
Into a dry ditch and drowned them all.

A deaf policeman heard the noise
And came to arrest the two dead boys.
If you don’t believe this story’s true
Ask the blind man, he saw it too

Have been reading through the poems again, and am still moved by many of them.
Blackberry Picking too me back to when my children were small, when we used to go blackberry picking.....buckets, we would bring home....thanks for bringing back such happy memories Caz.
Yes, Dave, it certainly was a "scoop", ingenious. Romany S. you have solved a mystery for me.Heard the word 'Diddicai' refering to Romany's, but never saw it in print.That too took me back to my childhood. Jean, both your poems are lovely. Judge Gently is soooo how we all should think, before judging others so quickly. Belair, the story about Greyfriars Bobby can still cause tears to flow.It touched me way back when in Edinborough, and just the same now.
I just want to thank all of you who have contributed to this thread-a wonderful idea of Susan's.

Eileen x

Man's Best Friend - Greyfriars Bobby

John Gray a gardener, together with his wife Jess and son John arrived in Edinburgh around 1850. Unable to find work as a gardener he avoided the workhouse by joining the Edinburgh Police Force as a night watchman.

To keep him company through the long winter nights John took on a partner, a diminutive Skye Terrier, his ‘watchdog’ called Bobby. Together John and Bobby became a familiar sight trudging through the old cobbled streets of Edinburgh. Through thick and thin, winter and summer, they were faithful friends.

The years on the streets appear to have taken their toll on John, as he was treated by the Police Surgeon for tuberculosis.

John eventually died of the disease on the 15th February 1858 and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. Bobby soon touched the hearts of the local residents when he refused to leave his master's grave, even in the worst weather conditions.

The gardener and keeper of Greyfriars tried on many occasions to evict Bobby from the Kirkyard. In the end he gave up and provided a shelter for Bobby by placing sacking beneath two tablestones at the side of John Gray’s grave.

Bobby’s fame spread throughout Edinburgh. It is reported that almost on a daily basis the crowds would gather at the entrance of the Kirkyard waiting for the one o'clock gun that would signal the appearance of Bobby leaving the grave for his midday meal.

Bobby would follow William Dow, a local joiner and cabinet maker to the same Coffee House that he had frequented with his now dead master, where he was given a meal.

In 1867 a new bye-law was passed that required all dogs to be licensed in the city or they would be destroyed. Sir William Chambers (The Lord Provost of Edinburgh) decided to pay Bobby's licence and presented him with a collar with a brass inscription "Greyfriars Bobby from the Lord Provost 1867 licensed". This can be seen at the Museum of Edinburgh.

The kind folk of Edinburgh took good care of Bobby, but still he remained loyal to his master. For fourteen years the dead man's faithful dog kept constant watch and guard over the grave until his own death in 1872.

Baroness Angelia Georgina Burdett-Coutts, President of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA, was so deeply moved by his story that she asked the City Council for permission to erect a granite fountain with a statue of Bobby placed on top.

William Brody sculptured the statue from life, and it was unveiled without ceremony in November 1873, opposite Greyfriars Kirkyard. And it is with that, that Scotland’s Capital city will always remember its most famous and faithful dog

Bobby's headstone reads "Greyfriars Bobby - died 14th January 1872 - aged 16 years - Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all".

--Requiem--

Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie,
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.

This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be,
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

--Robert Louis Stevenson--

Judge Gently
Author Unknown

Pray, don't find fault with the man that limps
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the shoes he wears
Or struggled beneath his load

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt
Though hidden away from view
Or the burden he bears placed on your back
Might cause you to stumble too

Don't sneer at the man who's down today
Unless you have felt the blow
That caused his fall or felt the shame
That only the fallen know

You may be strong but still the blows
That was his if dealt to you
In the selfsame way, at the selfsame time
Might cause you to stagger too

Don't be too harsh with the man that sins
Or pelt him with word or stone
Unless you are sure - yea, doubly sure -
That you have no sins of your own

For you know, perhaps,
If the tempter's voice should whisper as soft to you
As it did to him when he went astray
It might cause you to falter too


Jean xx

I've really enjoyed reading all the poems on here, some sad, some happy, but all wonderful.
I don't know who wrote this, but it's one of my faves

Go Gently With The Flow

If the sky above seems cloudy,
And you are left out in the rain,
If you are searching for a rainbow,
But the colors bring you pain,
If your world is not revolving,
And there is no end in sight,
If you are looking for the sunshine,
But all you see is night,
If all around are smiling,
But all you can do is frown,
If you are tired of all this living,
When life just brings you down,
Then look beyond your teardrops,
At the wonders of this land,
The beauty of a flower,
Like velvet in your hand.
Feel the air around you,
The smell of new mown hay,
Laughing children in the park,
The innocence there at play
Imagine floating with a butterfly,
As she flutters between the trees,
Or the whispers of the ocean,
On warm hot summer's breeze,
Think of the taste of candy floss,
As it melts upon your tongue,
Or the melody of morning birds,
As they greet each day with a song, 
Remember words of beauty,
Told in your mother's embrace,
Feel the gentleness of her touch,
As she softly kissed your face. 
Seek the good within you,
Cast the clouds from your sky,
Don't look toward the pavement,
But hold your head up high,
Think not what life owes you,
But of all you have to give,
Forget about tomorrow,
Then you can start to love.
So bless this age you are living in,
With the gifts you can bestow,
Don't disgrace the stream of life,
Go gently with the flow


Jean xx

Eileen think they did have code breaking agenda, But what a scoop that one was hey?

Dx

These are not strictly poems but my next door neighbours sister in law was a nurse in WW1 and she had some of the soldiers sign her autograph book and these are some of the things they wrote. It is a wonderful thing to read and very sad, as I wonder if some of them pulled through or not. - I hasten to add my next door neighbour herself is nearly 90 and SIL has long gone about 25 years ago I think.

A Soldiers Grace
Thank the Lord for what we have had
If we had had a little more we should be glad
But as things is so shocking bad
We shall have to be satisfied with what we have had!
* * * * * * *
It was the 13th of November
That day I will remember
Lying waiting in the mud
Getting many shells tho' often a dud
Then came the word "advance"
When we all had our chance
But on getting to the second line
Thats the place I got mine.

* * * * * *
Going through life
you will need an umbrella
may it always be upheld
by a handsome young fella!

* * * * * *
God made woman perfect
Man soils her
Love redeems her

* * * * * *
Kind hearts are the garden
Kind thoughts are the roots
Kind words are the blossoms
Kind deeds are the fruits
Love is the sweet sunshine
That worms into life
For only the darkness
Grows hatred and strife

* * * * * *
Thou shalt not steal
But nick abundantly!

* * * * * *
The Bullet
Every bullet has its billet
Many bullets more than one
God! Perhaps I killeda mother
When I killed a mother's son

* * * * * *
I dipped my pen into the ink
I tracked my brains and tried to think
I thought but all in vain, and
thought at last
I'd write my name!

*******

Hope you have enjoyed reading those - makes you wonder about those lads.

Tina

O, TO be in England
Now that April 's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England—now!

--Robert Browning--

An old Romany poem, from a time when the words meant something else.

Im a Romany Rai
A true Diddicai
I sleep near the bushes
Under the sky
I live in a tent
And dont pay any rent
And thats why they call me a Romany Rai.

Fairies, blackberries and poem , in fact all of them,
beautiful.

Pass me a hankie.

Sue

As I was not here yesterday
did not have much to say
have read the poems all today
and gosh what loads to say
from different walks
and different talks
we all have come together
and to share with one another
wonderful words made from others!

(not strictly a poem but there you go) lol

Tina x

Don,t know whether this qualifies as a poem as such but it has lovely words.
I noted it down some while ago. no idea of the title or who wrote it or for whom.

You never said "I'm leaving",
You never said goodbye;
You were gone before I knew it,
And only God knew why.

A million times I needed you,
A million times I cried;
If love alone could have saved you,
You never would have died.

In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still;
In my heart you hold a place,
That no-one else can fill.

It broke my heart to lose you,
But you didn,t go alone;
For part of me went with you,
The day God took you home.

Happy days

Googled it as "poem" and quoted the first two lines. Came up with music playing.. Author unknown. title "you never said goodbye