Monks House

Virginia belatedly
invited us today
to Monk’s House in East Sussex
down near Rodmell way
It was peaceful there, cathartic
A writer’s paradise
Where Virginia penned her novels
in a cottage which was nice

Nestled in the valley
the river Ouse nearby
Virginia and Leonard
lived together ’til they died
And today we went to visit
with the autumn sunshine bright
To see where she, those novels
was inspired to plot and write

©Jemverse

Photo – Monk’s House, Rodmell, East Sussex – Jempics

The writer Virginia Woolf and her husband, the political activist, journalist and editor Leonard Woolf, purchased Monks house in Rodmell in 1919. Virginia’s sister, the artist Vanessa Bell, lived at nearby Charleston Farmhouse in Firle from 1916, and though contrasting in style, both houses became important outposts of the Bloomsbury Group. The National Trust now operates the building as a writer’s house museum.

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Tri-Sussex

In May there is green
as we walk on these hills
and breathe in the air
as a cure for all ills

In August there’s ochre
as the harvest grows ripe
and these hills bring a smile
from the grumble and gripe

In December there’s white
and the snow on these hills
serves as reminder
that this is Sussex still

©Jemverse

Photo – The Sussex hills looking to Fulking Escarpment – Jempics

Seascape

If I do nothing else today
the one thing I will do
Is sit down on the beach a while
and watch the lovely view
For I will never tire of this
The sea, the sky, the sun
Particularly when like now
My working day is done

Encapsulating promise
when there’s no one else around
I love to sit here on my own
and listen to the sound
As waves upon this Southern shore
with tidal waters turn
and echo to the silence
I will never, ever spurn

Reflected blue of seascape
above as down below
I cannot think of anything
to better this I know
And here in beach hut heaven
I can watch it all day long
Just listening to the sweet refrain
The oceans’ happy song

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Sitting by the Sea

I’ve sat by the sea in Croatia
I’ve set by the sea in Spain
I’ve sat by the sea in Turkey and Greece
but it’s never quite been the same

I’ve sat by the sea in Gibraltar
I’ve sat by the sea in France
I’ve sat by the sea in Montenegro and Crete
but it’s always like taking a chance

For when I sat by the sea here in Sussex
there’s no asking for anything more
As it excludes a peace that makes my soul shine
by Southern England’s home shore

©Jemverse

Photo – the Sussex Sea – Jempics

The Bull

Went for a walk up on Mill Hill
and met some scary sheep
But although we had due warning
it was the bull that made us weep

For he was really jolly big
as nervously we trod
around him fairly gingerly
on Sussex chalkland sod

We hugged each other with relief
when on the other side
then shared the pic on Instagram
to spread the story wide

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Every Ocean

3 of 3

Sailed every ocean
over several years
They’ve given me joy
and also some tears
Yet great as they are
I will always defer
to the sea here in Sussex
the one I prefer

©Jemverse

Photo – the Sussex sea, looking towards Brighton – Jempics

Many Oceans

2 of 3

Sailed many oceans
but the one I love most
is the strip of the channel
off the Sussex coast
For its here that my heart
just knows it’s at home
with the sea on the doorstep
all my life I have known

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics