Adaptation

Adaptation is a precious thing
as it proves that we are able
to make the very best of things
when cards are on the table
I speak of course of Covid
and the lockdown and the change
it’s brought worldwide to all of us
as we all re-arrange
There’s been loss and there’s been sadness
as the pandemic’s taken hold
taking toll from everyone
from young to very old

And everyone has had to change
to lives so different now
yet with most of us adapting
getting on with life somehow
And I wonder if when cure is found
the life that once we knew
will be something we’ve forgotten
and will actively eschew
Part of me hopes that we will
for this lockdown it has taught
that life’s for the adapting
and the difference it has brought

A life that’s far more tolerant
and slower now in pace
as we come to realisation
of a different human race
One that’s less subservient
to selfishness and greed
and acts instead with kindness
to those of us with need
Yes adaptation is a good thing
and though Covid’s not yet done
I feel there is a promise here
of better things to come

©Jemverse

Picture – ‘Lockdown Splash #1’ by the author

Freedom Promise

I had a little dream
about the things I used to do
not so very long ago
but now complete taboo
Simple things like walking out
to town and wandering round
taking pleasure in the things
which in a charity shop I’d found

Or sitting with good friends
in the pub just down the lane
for a couple of pale ales
and a natter and a game
But though these are impossible
at the moment there is hope
that I cling to with a promise
which allows me here to cope

For there will come a time
before the summer’s done
when we can see those things again
and dance out in the sun
So until that time comes round
I will make the most of things
biding time until the day
when freedom once more sings

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Sedoka week VI (Friday)

6 of 7

Remaining steadfast
we look to hope to save us
with its enduring promise
For it is comfort
a solace to have and hold
for reassurance today

©Jemverse

Photo – ‘Painter by Ferryboat’ – woodcut on paper – Yamada Basuke (©1930)

Sedoka is a japanese poetry form comprising 38 syllables spread over 6 non-rhyming lines with a syllabic sequence of 5,7,7, 5,7,7

Tuesday

And when Monday was finished
with Tuesday begun
the February sunshine arrived
Still weak with the winter
bereft yet of warmth
at least it could say that it tried

A fair attempt there I thought
as I said, it had tried
and given me something today
The spark of a promise
of good things to come
with Springtime well on the way

©Jemverse

Photo – IconsForFree

The sunshine promise

I lived a little broken
like an old grey bag of bones
and despite the life around me
felt a long, long way from home
Abandoned to no purpose
each day was like the rest
and although the sun gave promise
it felt like second best

But then a spark ignited
and a new fire took a hold
Inspiring and uplifting it
removed me from the cold
Brought me back into the warmth
when the sun is always new
and never second rated
with each new sunbeam view

Reminded me I’m special
as we each are, every one
even though from time to time
we all have days of glum
For the sunshine is a constant
with a sparkle every day
mending all the broken thing
in every single way

So even when I’m broken
like an old grey bag of bones
the sunshine is reminder
that I’m never on my own
As it is a shining beacon
to full purpose and to zest
consistently with promise
to in each of us invest

©Jemverse

Photo – Aptoide (via Google images)

Cobweb III

Whilst the year was still an infant
I looked up to the blue
when morning broke with sunshine
upon a year brand new
And the crystal strands of cobweb
caught right there in morning light
clarified that moment
for a truly lovely sight
Spoke to me of truth and hope
and of many joys to come
in this first year of the decade
which has only just begun

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Cobweb II

Whilst the year was still an infant
at the beginning of the year
a latticework of cobweb
I cam across out here
It was clearly now abandoned
yet retained a beauty there
so striking and so poignant
that I knew I had to share
For this is quite symbolic
the new from old begun
changing like the spider
and the many webs now spun

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Cobweb I

Whilst the year was still an infant
I spied a cobweb freshly spun
Reminded me of what was past
and what had just begun
Spoke to me of promise
and something fresh and new
The ‘gone before’ forgotten
with a dose of morning dew

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

In times such as these

A long shaft of sunlight
peirced the gloom
and lit up an otherwise
darkly clad room
It spoke of a promise
born on a smile
with a voice full of hope
I’d not heard in a while

So I stood up and danced
round the room for a bit
Laughing and whooping
and quite full of it
For this rarest of moment
a gift to be seized
is precious and wholesome
in times such as these

©Jemverse

Photo – Emily Rose Croucher

Tri-sedoka III (hope and promise)

In these early days
with hope and promise still fresh
from new year resolution
The light is still bright
as we raise an arm to shield
Squinting up into brightness

And long may they shine
Not to dim or break or fade
But stand up and be counted
Continuity
prevailing and standing fast
to push back any darkness

Let this be the year
When the sun shines every day
Outwardly and inwardly
deep in every heart
to keep alive the promise
painted by hope’s bright picture

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics