Poems Two

To mark my 58th birthday I want to share three poems that are particularly special to me.

The first poem was written back in 1985. As I walked home from the bus stop one misty November 5^th evening, I couldn’t fail to notice all the fireworks exploding in the sky around me, the heavy aroma of bonfires burning and the sound of children squealing with excitement. The sights, sounds and smells inspired me to write this poem.

Visions of November

Waves of murky brown smoke

gently ripple over my tousled head,

and that rich, intoxicating aroma

plays havoc with my sense,

conjuring up a thousand vivid memories

of chestnuts, brandy snap, childhood aspirations

and hot steamy breath evaporating in the night.

Unthinkingly I turn to stare

at the stark silhouettes of cold

bare trees on parade for the night,

then a rainbow coloured shower

suddenly bursts into view,

glittering like tinsel in the chilled November air,

until fading, twinkling, dying

it flutters down to kiss the ground.

Droves of excited children circle around,

their small frames protected by

thick woolly garments,

lovingly knitted by elderly relatives.

Their squeals are high pitched,

their laughter infectious

and their ruddy little faces

are so eager, so alive.

In the flickering orange glow of the bonfire

a bedraggled yet beaming Guy Fawkes

is crackling and burning

and in my mind's eye I see my father

leaning over to light a dormant gunpowder treat

whilst I clutched my mother's hand

and watched every second

in starry eyed amazement.

©Jill Webb

I wrote the second poem not long after the birth of my second son. His birthday is the same as that of my late grandfather and this caused me to reflect on my own childhood and the special place my grandpa had in my life. The poem was featured in an anthology named ‘Sealed With A Kiss’ in 2000.

Letter to Grandpa

I wish that I could tell you

how much you mean to me,

that all I now appreciate

I was then too young to see.

If only I could thank you

for always being there,

through growing pains

and teenage moods

I had no doubt you cared.

I wish that my two children

could play beside your feet

for them not to

have known you

means their lives

are less complete.

I hope that I can teach them

by actions that you showed

that those who give

without needing to take

are the ones

who love you the most.

As I briefly mentioned in my opening post on this blog, over the last few months I have taken the first steps towards fulfilling a lifelong ambition of writing a book. The story is going to have a strong psychic theme running through it and will be based around the subject of twin flame relationships.

The Twin Flames

You are

a reflection of me,

a mirror image

of what I see.

All that you feel

I feel it too,

my strengths, my failings

I see in you.

Those glowing shades

of gold and red,

the spark you ignited

inside my head,

without you

my life is incomplete,

a jigsaw puzzle

with a missing piece.

Without you

my life is no longer ablaze,

shades of misty blue

are all that remain.

©Jill Webb November 2018