Monday 31 October 2011

Just My Cup of Tea

In the bleak midwinter,
Wrap time around a little finger,
Suspended,
In air perfumed by summer,
Pick up the fragile flowered cup,
Take a sip,
Let memories flood my mind.

'TAKE A BREATH' From Visual Counterpoint


Walking between high hedges,
The heady scent of honeysuckle,
Hangs,
Over the narrow winding lane,
As if loath to leave a known way,
Take a breath,
Let fragrance flood my mind.

'SHROUDED SECRET' From Visual Counterpoint


Walking under dark skies,
A luminous radiant river,
Holds,
Within a wandering light,
The shrouded secret of our beginning,
Take a look,
Let curiosity flood my mind.

Saturday 29 October 2011

The Old Grey Goose Is Dead

'GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN' From Visual Counterpoint


I am an alien,
Lost,
In a society I don’t understand,
Nor,
If I am honest,
Wish to.

A Train of Thought with the Right Destination

'BACH'S VIOLIN CONCERTO' From Visual Counterpoint


I never know what little incident will trigger a memory from my childhood. Since we all tend to remember the good things this is nearly always a pleasant event.
This morning I was surprised to see a dog or some other animal had dug a hole in my favourite place to sit and rest on the canal bank. I took some dried grass and filled the depression and this provided an even more comfortable seat. The smell of the crushed grass reminded me of the beginning of my childhood summer holidays camping, when I packed a palliasse with straw for a mattress.
The memories then came thick and fast.
I remembered one summer when it rained virtually all the time for 6 weeks. The campsite was like a swamp; the wooden tent pegs were floating out of the ground.
My sister and I were left to entertain each other.
My idea of entertainment was donning Wellingtons and mackintosh and following the farmer around as he performed his daily chores. This held no allure for my sister.
She spent hours making a complete pack of 52 playing cards from the cardboard dividers inside the packets of Weetabix that were demolished every morning by the King’s School boys for breakfast. I in my turn thought this was a total waste of time.
Now my thoughts are entirely different.
My sister is very clever academically and I have always been proud of her success as an Oxford University scholar and teacher. She is left-handed and suffers the gaucheness that often accompanies this. She is not good at tasks that require dexterity.
That summer she sat for hours painstakingly copying the intricate designs. She could have spent the time reading or doing anything she found easy but even as a teenager she chose to struggle with a difficult task.
I now know that I have another reason to be very proud of my sister. She showed me that working hard at something that you are not naturally good gives a greater sense of achievement when you succeed. I have no idea whether I learned this lesson subconsciously when I was only about ten years old and if this encouraged me to work hard enough at the academic studies in which I was so poor in order to achieve my aim to be able to treat sick and injured animals.
The apparently unlucky sabotage of my favourite seat in fact set a train of thought travelling down the track that led to me understanding and appreciating my sister better than before. This cannot be anything but a lucky event.

Any Which - Way

'THE STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE'From Visual Counterpoint



The fallen open the canopy,
And show how trees grow,
Branches outline a tortuous path,
As if they followed every whim,
Or sudden fancy,
They map the struggle to survive,
Time crowns the successful.

'A PICTURE OF SUCCESS' From Visual Counterpoint

Saturday 22 October 2011

If Only

'IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME'From Visual Counterpoint


If surrounded by giants,
It helps
If you are,
In the right place,
At the right time,
If you wish to be,
Noticed.

Monday 17 October 2011

Destiny Unknown

'NO LIMIT TO THE IMAGINATION' From Visual Counterpoint


The imagination cannot be confined
To a well-worn path,
No matter how carefully prepared.
It leaps into the unknown,
Flies in the face of adversity,
And writes its’ own destiny.

Sunday 16 October 2011

Fragile Fingertips

'FRAGILE FINGERTIPS' From Visual Counterpoint


Fragile fingertips harness the power of a star
And build from thin air
Hands, to reach for the sky,
And caress rain-giving clouds,
As they pass by.

'REACH FOR THE SKY' From Visual Counterpoint


'STAND UNDER THE CANOPY AND WONDER' From Visual Counterpoint


Stand under the canopy and wonder,
Lie in the shade and dream
Dreams, to reach for the sky,
And touch magical moments,
Don’t pass them by.

'LIE IN THE SHADE AND DREAM' From Visual Counterpoint

Monday 10 October 2011

Angle of Reflection

'ANGLE OF REFLECTION' From Visual Counterpoint


The dead wooden post dances,
With my thoughts,
To the wind,
In an underwater world,
And a tree is resurrected,
That weaves again through the currents of time.


'INVITATION TO THE DANCE' From Visual Counterpoint

Saturday 8 October 2011

Director's Cut

Fear is the mind killer,
Pain numbs the heart,
These actors both try,
To play their part,

Never give to them,
A starring role,
Or you may lose sight,
Of the distant goal,

'PAINTED BY PHOTOSHOP' From Visual Counterpoint


When painting the backdrop,
It’s best not to lean,
On their transient skill,
To colour the scene,

For their special effect,
Give them dry ice,
The bonus being,
It fades in a trice.

'GROWN UP NATURALLY' From Visual Counterpoint


Grass takes some time,
To grow under your feet,
Take care where you tread,
It could be wheat.

'TAKE CARE' From Visual Counterpoint

Thursday 6 October 2011

If I Were a Bird

'AHEAD FOR PALE HEIGHTS'From Visual Counterpoint


If I were a bird I would be an albatross,
Trading the occasional supreme effort of take-off,
And all grace on landing,
For a life spent gliding over the ocean.


If I were an albatross,
I would have placed a curse on my murderers,
Leaving them becalmed,
But I am not a bird,
And I cannot fly,
Nor curse.

My murderers go free.

'TREEMENDOUS FEELING' From Visual Counterpoint

Saturday 1 October 2011

Not a Waste of Space

A gentleman all men can learn to be,
A gentle man is altogether a different cup of tea.

'GREATEST LOVE' From Visual Counterpoint