There's a sunset coming though a ways off yet
I can see the glow to the West
as the evening time approaches now
a bid at my behest
It's yellow, pink and pastel
and full of warming glow
foretelling of a different time
that all too soon I'll know
It's a sunset of the summer
one of a perfect day
and though it's lasted many years
I'm ready now I'd say
So here I breathe and deeply
satisfaction is replete
as the sunset coming gathers pace
and sees this time complete
[And yes…there’s a metaphor here. Third line of verse three gives a clue to what it portends. But I suspect there will be several more over the next few months to give the game away]
In days of heady youth, future just a dream
the wisdom of a caring mother prompted application
to an embryonic beginning
Forecasting fortitude to longevity never seen
decades passed to forty years
and as youth acquiesced to age, retirement loomed
Now wisdom of age to fruition seen, the curtain call
beckons to a new beginning
at this evening sunset of a twilight year
Don't get the wrong impression
my colleagues, reading this
as I'm not one for fudgel
as for me my work is bliss
But on occasion there are times
especially of late
when a fudgel is more common
in attempts to graciate
As with retirement looming
ever closer now these days
I find myself succumbing to
a new relaxing phase
[In the ‘Colloquy’ series, I’m exploring some of the English language’s more obscure words. Some little used, some no longer used but all recondite. ‘Fudgel’ is a verb and is defined as the act of giving the impression you’re working when you’re not.]
I'd forgotten the five o'clock darkness
on these cool autumn days
comfortable in ignorance
I've become set in my ways
Thankfully though this daily trudge
this commute in darkened time
is something I can live without
as it is no longer mine
Save this week to London
once more to the 'Big Smoke'
before the dawn has made it
and I have yet awoke
The extended lotty's taking shape
as Sal and I are there to make
the best of all the toils we take
from this our piece of land
It's looking good and we are proud
so we will shout that fact aloud
no hiding behind veil or shroud
from this our piece of land
And by and by when comes the rain
we'll plant some crops and then again
see produce to our table lain
from this our piece of land
With darkness outside at the end of the night
I am tired and stifle a yawn
it is quiet and yet still I'm up with the lark
at this early hour shy of the dawn
And I have to say pleased it is only three days
each week that this I must do
as today I am feeling my sixty plus years
and would gladly these long days eschew
Just one more to master and then some respite
four days of a weekend in store
to chill and relax and slumber enjoy
before heading back for three more
It's a first for me today
no trains for quite time
not since the first lockdown
have I braved the ridden line
And yet today to Worthing
I must venture yet again
for my first day in an office
and a journey on a train
So I'm taking all precaution
best foot forward and the rest
to make the day enjoyable
my safety to invest
And I know that it will all be fine
despite the butterflies
that I've now got in my tummy
which I guess is no surprise
So Shoreham station here I come
to travel on a train
and take another step to bring
normality again
Thought I'd missed the sunshine
but thank goodness there it was
the sunspot in the garden
in full sun still there because
although we are north-facing
the setting in the West
gives us sunshine in the garden
until six o'clock at best
Apart from this small haven
where to catch the final rays
the bench that we have placed here
sees the later sun most days
So that is where I ran today
as soon as work was done
to settle in and raise my brow
and feel the warming sun
...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...