I watched the shilling spinning
it was mine in no small measure
Enough to buy two Matchbox cars
to hold and keep and treasure
The fingers twisted blithely
as they caught and spun again
but I saw no abandon
found no one there to blame
For today was like a birthday
though mine was months away
when my uncle gave a shilling
on that special Saturday
And the Matchbox cars I purchased
for a purpose there to measure
are with me still as both I’ve held
and kept close as a treasure
Over the years I have titled several poems with the preposition ‘of’ – so this last Jemverse mini-series of 2022 pulls some of those back together again
In my solace and respite
with the sun streaming in
I'm at home in my room
as you'll see from my grin
for all that is in here
is here to bring joy
with things I've collected
since I was a boy
It's here that I write
and here that I play
be it music or games
sitting here day by day
It brings 'joie de vivre'
my raison d'être
for all inspiration
in life that I share
8 of 12 in the Jemverse summer 22 series ‘Melting days’
In fields of long summers I ran around free
full of the joys of just being me
All of the innocence given to youth
revealed in those moments full of the truth
and the sunshine was there as it always was
for this was the summer and simply because
7 of 12 in the Jemverse summer 22 series ‘Melting Days’
In fields of long summers explored as a child
seeking out blackberries that grew in the wild
Enjoying adventures in grass under sun
those were the days of laughter and fun
Part of the ‘Past to Present’ series from Jemverse
The beach Ted Bunker launched his
boat from sadly is no more
once called 'The Gut' its gutted now
no more a shingle shore
Filled in to make a car park
the beach where once we played
is another loss to history
and to the fishing trade
[‘The Gut’ was a small beach immediately behind Albion Street in Southwick, West Sussex. It was used by fishermen for many years and I can vividly remember playing there as a boy and talking to the fishermen as they pulled their boats ashore at high tide. But now – for no sound reason that I can imagine – the beach has been filled in to make way for a public car park].
Something I have longed for
since nineteen seventy-seven
arrived on Christmas morning
with a little slice of heaven
My own Millennium Falcon
and an AT-AT for good measure
which after careful building
I can keep and always treasure
A present from my children
(there were tears and that's the truth)
some moments of emotion
to rekindle here my youth
I’d turn back time
(If only I could)
For I’ve a bag full of conkers
which I found in the wood
Recalling the days
of muddied scuffed knees
Long days in the sunshine
and the climbing of trees
‘Borrowing’ a skewer
from the kitchen drawer
when stringed conkers in pocket
was what life was for
We threw sticks to the branches
to see what would fall
and the thrill of the find
was just part of it all
The ‘fallers’ were rare
but we searched just the same
Always out in the woods
when the autumn time came
But that art has been lost
for today on the ground
There were hundreds of conkers
just lying around
And the only boy there
was the one in my mind
As it re-lived the days
that time tries to find
I-phones replace conkers
Imagination consumed
And simple pleasures like this
could well now be doomed
Yet all is not lost
For the conkers remain
for collecting by me
every year just the same
As now they are used
to keep spiders away
And as happy reminders
of a halcyon day
I saw a little London bus
on a table for a pound
At the car boot sale down on the Rec.
just waiting to be found
It’s been played with many times before
an original Matchbox toy
Something I was chuffed to find
for it’s sure to bring me joy
It’s just a little London bus
a Routemaster number five
A little scratched but pretty good
for sixty years alive
And it will now be treasured
and will see more years I’m sure
Providing pleasure yet again
as that is what it’s for
Matchbox is a popular toy brand which was introduced by Lesney Products in 1953, and is now owned by Mattel, Inc. The brand was named as the original die-cast Matchbox toys, which were sold in boxes similar in style and size to those in which matches were sold. The Routemaster No.5 London bus is part of the original 1-75 series produced between 1953 and 1957. So my little bus is at least 59 years old!
...all about me and my life in words. I write most days, carrying an ideas book around in which I capture a word snapshot of life around me. So there's a lot here about Sussex and the sea and anything else I see that inspires.
The pictures are mine too. Some taken to match a poem; some poems written to match a pic; others chosen because they work well with words written.
Jemverse is life in words. Hope you enjoy the reading as much as I enjoy the writing...
Jemverse 