Old house
Old house in need of paint, I see there was a time
when the rose that grows on yonder wall had little need to pine,
for care of youthful fingers, that trimmed the thorny stalks
and later plucked the fragrant buds which flavoured evening talks.
And more I see as I walk by, an old man - aged and bent
who does his best to chop the weeds that suffocate the scent.
Old house you are a shadow and I squint my eyes to see
more clearly how it used to be when you thought youth was free.
Perhaps it's just as well that you cannot really feel,
you see, old house your mistress lives - for want of better word.
And the effort made to draw each breath is often left unheard.
Wrapped nicely in a blanket. people say "you're well,
oh yes my dear.....you're looking fine" - I don't perceive your hell.
A little sigh, a vacant glace, no one really knows,
that the summer breeze has wafted in.... the memory of your rose.
The corner shop still bustles on, it doesn't show its age
it seems to be a catalyst, which precipitates a stage,
for the changing of realities that give a different view,
to the once so pretty garden and the hands that now touch few.
Sixty years is just a breath to those in retrospect,
and so it is to those alone who sit and recollect.
A happy bride of twenty did plant a climbing rose,
now she's just turned eighty - I'm glad she 'comes and goes'.
Old house I have to leave for now to cook my baby's tea; please don't think I leave you here, for you will come with me.
I have seen in yonder rose, the shadow of your past, and
I must use my time of youth, to something that will last.
Janice
1978
Blackberry Leaves in Winter
The frost has sketched a silver outline around webs
The mist is patchy and I can see filtered sunrays
The bushes hang heavy with rich red berries
The blackberry leaves are a rusty red
The nights are crisp and cold
The days grow shorter
The trees are stark
The birds have flown away
The wattle shows a tinge of yellow
The rain is sleet like, sometimes snow
The bulbs are beginning show their faces
The experience of watching this is priceless to me.
