After the rain III

After the rain
mock orange flowers
spread their fragrance
for some hours
Wish that I could
share with you
the bouquet there
that will ensue
But I cannot
save in this line
assure you that
it is divine

©Jemverse

Photo – Mock-Orange flowers – Jempics

Allure

The allure of the ocean
calls often to me
whenever I’m taken
away from the sea
So I have to return
as one does for a friend
as its magic and beauty
has no limit or end

And looking out to the waves
as I stand on the shore
I know that I’ll always
come back here for more

©Jemverse

Photo – Shoreham beach, West Sussex – Jempics

Cuckmere Haven

Down at Cuckmere Haven
where the Ouse flows to the sea
the view from high on Haven Brow
is caught spectacularly
As up here with my camera
I pause to take a snap
The view as a reminder
that I am a lucky chap

For this is Sussex by the sea
beauty at its best
Close by and on my doorstep
by whim or by behest

©Jemverse

Photo – Cuckmere Haven from Haven Brow (the first of the ‘Seven Sisters’ chalk cliffs), East Sussex, UK – Jempics

Day Five (Alfriston to Eastbourne)

And just when we needed the sunshine
there it was just like a friend
to enrich us and encourage
and spur us to the end

Warm and bright and wholesome
with reflections on the sea
as we crossed the Seven Sisters
my brother Dave and me

And as we neared Eastbourne
as all good friends just should
it stayed as our companion
as we always hoped it would

©Jemverse

Over five days, starting on Tuesday 2 May, my brother and I walked the second half of the South Downs Way – from Washington in West Sussex to Eastbourne in East Sussex. Day five was from Alfriston to Eastbourne.

Photo – three of the ‘Seven Sisters’ from the top of ‘Rough Brow’  – Jempics. The ‘Seven Sisters’ (Haven, Short, Rough, Brass, Flagstaff, Flat and Baily’s Brows) are a series of high chalk cliffs bordering the English Channel in Sussex and part of the long distance ‘South Downs Way’. An eighth ‘sister’ is currently forming – ‘West Hill Brow’ – as a result of coastal erosion.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this little capture of the ‘South Downs Way’ as much as my brother Dave and I have enjoyed walking it. We’re dedicating all eleven poems to Peter Owen-Jones, another lover of Sussex and presenter of the BBC documentary ‘South Downs: England’s Mountains Green’

And here are the links to the other ten poems in the series and reflecting all 100 miles of the South Downs Way from Winchester to Eastbourne:

• Fifty Miles
• Old Winchester Hill
• Big Sky
• Houses for Eeyore
• Into Sussex
• The Yellow Road
• Day One (Washington to Truleigh)
• Day Two (Truleigh Hill to Ditchling Beacon)
• Day Three (Ditching Beacon to Rodmell)
• Day Four (Rodmell to Alfriston), and
• [this one] Day Five (Alfriston to Eastbourne)

Day Three (Ditchling Beacon to Rodmell)

And if I thought the views I’d seen
were the best that Sussex had
The ones I saw today notched
things up more than a tad
For the ones across the valley
where the Ouse flows to the sea
were almost overwhelming
as we walked, my Bro and me

Day three from Ditching Beacon
took us down near Rodmell way
All really rather lovely
for a special walking day

©Jemverse

Over five days, starting on Tuesday 2 May, my brother and I walked the second half of the South Downs Way – from Washington in West Sussex to Eastbourne in East Sussex. Day three was from Ditching Beacon to Rodmell. Photo – the view from the top of Juggs drover trail looking north –  Jempics

 

Day Two (Truleigh Hill to Ditching Beacon))

I guess around this time of year
there really has to be
a shot of bluebells in the woods
for they’re wonderful to see

And there they were at Stanmer
at the tail end of day two
When we had walked ’round thirteen miles
Quite wonderful to view

A lovely thing for us to find
as we walk these Sussex ways
and lots more of that still to come
within the next three days

©Jemverse

Over five days, starting Tuesday 2 May, my brother and I are walking the second half of the South Downs Way – from Washington in West Sussex to Eastbourne in East Sussex. Day two was from Truleigh Hill to Ditching Beacon. Photo – Jempics

Next post in this series will be on Sunday 7 May as we’re camping out these next three days

Day One (Washington to Truleigh)

The view from the top
of Chanctonbury Hill
looking north into Sussex
is beautiful still

With soft clouds in the sky
and the green of the field
It is to this wonder
that we instantly yield

And the blue of the sky
with the warmth of the sun
exceeds all our hopes
for the start of day one

©Jemverse

Over five days, starting yesterday (2 May), my brother and I are walking the second half of the South Downs Way – from Washington in West Sussex to Eastbourne in East Sussex. Day one was the 12 miles from Washington to Truleigh Hill. Photo – Jempics