Joie de vivre II

Don’t let me sit inside
when there is sunshine to enjoy
Fill me with the wonder
that is out there to deploy
Give me the enthusiasm
to be out there on a whim
just lapping up the atmosphere
with an expectant grin

Don’t let me get complacent
whilst I have the breath to live
for the pleasure of the moment
is complete with joie de vivre

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Allotment III

It’s June and the allotment
is looking like you wouldn’t believe
Far more than I think we hoped for
and more than we could conceive

It’s amazing the effect that the sunshine
mixed with a downpour can do
That, and a touch of elbow grease
from the efforts of you know who

And already we’re seeing in just a few weeks
the fruits of our labours right here
It’s really very encouraging
with a great big helping of cheer

©Jemverse

Photo – herbs, lavender, squash and beans on our allotment – Jempics

The Purple Tree

The tree was purple, all lit up
in the middle of the night
Came across it suddenly
all shiny there and bright

Spent a good few moments
beneath its leafy boughs
In awe of its magnificence
emotions to arouse

Prince there of the woodland
the homage paid by this
illumination glorified
was beautifully amiss

©Jemverse

The purple tree was part of the ‘For the Birds’ experience at this May’s Brighton Festival. For more about that, see this.

Photo – Jempics

The Shilling

I remember when I was a lad
how much a shilling gave
were I to spend it, even though
I was encouraged then to save

And so it was in West George Street
in Glasgow, Sunday night
The Shilling Brewing Co I found
built on an old bank site

And though it cost a little more
the beer there that I had
gave memory of the pleasure felt
with a shilling as a lad

©Jemverse

The Shilling Brewing Co was founded in 2016 and occupies the premises of a former Royal Bank of Scotland site. The old bank vault doors remain in the basement when the ladies and gents toilets are now.

A shilling was a unit of English currency before decimalisation in 1968. It was worth 12 old pennies or around 5 pence in today’s money. Back in the day you could get a lot with a shilling; but nowadays you can get virtually nothing with a 5 pence piece!

Photo – a pint of Joker IPA – Jempics

Mellifluous

There are quite a lot of sounds
that are pleasing to the ear
Mellifluous they may be called
Sweet and smooth to hear

For me, one in particular
made by a little chap
My small brown dog called ‘Obi’
and when he drinks with just a lap

©Jemverse

Photo – ‘Obi Wan-Kinobi’ looking gorgeous – Jempics

Random acts of kindness

A random act of kindness
in a word or by a deed
can bring a ray of sunshine
to someone who has the need

And when it happens, always
you can rest assured and know
that little thing you said or did
has brought a nice warm glow

©Jemverse

Photo – a ray of sunshine – Jempics

Allotment

We have a new allotment
It needs some T.L.C.
But it has a lot of promise
for a future yet to be
It’s got a lot of grass on it
which I will have to mow
But there’s some soil that’s ready
to use right now and grow

And it’s just around the corner
from where we live, not far
So we can walk there with a spade
and not need to use the car
It’s even got a little shed
where we can store some stuff
Quite handy for a cup of tea
if the digging gets too tough

We took a picture as it is
whilst it’s still overgrown
Something for comparison
when it’s been dug and mown
And when it’s had some summer sun
and rains have been and gone
We’ll hopefully have some produce
to show for what we’ve done

©Jemverse

Photo – Ham field allotments – Jempics