Death and the helpful hand of poetry

12 Wednesday Aug 2015

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nightseaiiLife’s events sometimes rear up unexpectedly and hit you with such force that the solace of kindhearted people and poetry are the things that get you through the pain.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson – Crossing the Bar

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put put to sea,

But such a tide of moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.

Best wishes – Denny Bradbury

Watcher on the Ground

10 Wednesday Jun 2015

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I am daily reminded of how small we are compared to Nature’s ability to survive and amaze. This was my inspiration from yesterday walking my lovely labrador in quiet fields:

Brilliant white of the blackthorn is gone
delicate pink of green hawthorn clings on

timothy sways in the breeze as it grows
groundsel so sturdy it is one of those
commonplace plants that nobody knows

blackbird is calling his mate to the tree
his peers answer loudly with deep rivalry
dunnocks chirrup in hideouts secure
while swallows sweep silently over the moor

walker sees all by not making a sound
standing and staring she is to be found
watching as deer leaps high above ground

brilliant white of the blackthorn is gone
delicate pink of green hawthorn clings on

Denny Bradbury©

Atlantis – ever an enigma

22 Friday May 2015

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The gift of a poetry book is the gift that just keeps on giving. I love to browse and find hidden gems. This is from my book of sea poems. The poem called ‘Atlantis’ is by Conrad Aiken, three of the middle verses are very poignant:

From Atlantis by Conrad Aiken

Long ago it sunk in the sea;
And now a thousand fathoms deep,
Sea-worms above it whirl their lamps,
Crabs on the pale mosaic creep.

Voyagers over that haunted sea
Hear from the waters under the keel
A sound that is not wave or foam;
Nor do they only hear, but feel

The timbers quiver, as eerily comes
Up from the dark an elfin singing
Of voices happy as none can be,
And bells an ethereal anthem ringing.

Very best wishes – Denny Bradbury

Thoughts on May Day

01 Friday May 2015

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Every year my mother would quote from Tennyson’s ‘The May Queen’. Although it is a sentimental and terribly sad Victorian poem she always quoted it with a smile and a little dance – so for me they are very fond memories. The first verse:

You must wake and call me early, call me early, mother dear;
Tomorrow ‘ll be the happiest time of all the glad new-year –
Of all the glad new-year, mother, the maddest, merriest day;
For I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.

Extract from Alfred Lord Tennyson – The May Queen

Perhaps Kahlil Gibran captures more how I feel about the Spring:

“Be like a flower and turn your face to the sun.”

Happy May Day everyone – very best wishes – Denny Bradbury

Love according to Shakespeare

22 Wednesday Apr 2015

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Following on from my previous thoughts. Given that I feel the world needs as much love as it can muster, I offer one of Shakespeare’s love poems that is evocative and seems sincere:

The Passionate Pilgrim

Live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dales and fields,
And all the craggy mountains yields.

There will we sit upon the rocks,
And see the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers, by whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

There will I make thee a bed of roses,
With a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs.
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Then live with me and be my love.

William Shakespeare

Very best wishes – Denny Bradbury