Iron Blooms

The collection is growing
of our iron blooms
amongst the nasturtiums out there
Exposed to the weather
they rust and remain
with permanent gusto and flair

We have poppies and daisies
and other such things
positioned and planted at leisure
For as the year changes
and plants come and go
they remain for continuing pleasure

©Jemverse

Photo – our ever-expanding group of in situ iron plant sculptures – Jempics

Gorgeous II

Rustic, these sculptures
turn their heads to the sky
be it grey or bright blue
with clouds floating by

In our garden their splendour
brings pleasure each day
Each unique and quite gorgeous
in their own special way

We’re so pleased that we found them
in the Lewes town store
and it’s not beyond reason
that we’ll go back for more

©Jemverse

Photo – in situ iron flower sculptures – Jempics [We found these in a shop in the ancient Sussex town of Lewes a couple of years back. Originally purchasing two, the crop has now grown to seven!]

Fire and Glass

Sat a while in Junkyard Dog
to hear the music play
Guitars, fiddle, vocals too
September Saturday

Good conversation flowing
here for private view
Fire drawings by my daughter
Sal’s glass for something new

Junkyard Dog the setting
Artwork from my family
Six Crouchers here together
in Brighton by the sea

©Jemverse

Photo – glass by Sally Croucher; burnt wood drawings by Emily Rose Croucher – Jempics. [Junkyard Dog is a cafe in the Kemp Town area of Brighton, East Sussex, UK]

Open House

We had an open house this year
Adur Arts in June
Three weekends with Sally’s glass
displayed in the front room

We had several interested parties
round from time to time
People said the nicest things
which is of course just fine

But it’s quite an imposition
and the dogs were not that keen
So I rather think we’ll pass next year
Though I’m pleased that we have been

©Jemverse

Photo – glass sculpture by Sally Croucher for Shoreham-by-Sea’s 2018 Adur Arts trail, West Sussex, UK – Jempics

The Desert Quartet

He’s just one of four
by Elizabeth Frink
looking down on me now
as I sip a hot drink
‘The Desert Quartet’
adorn the arcade
there from the eighties
when they were made

Pride they have mustered
as the years come and go
looking down on the people
who walk to and fro
And here they will stay
in Worthing I think
an epitaph to
Dame Elizabeth Frink

©Jemverse

“The Desert Quartet” (1985) – Montague Shopping Arcade, Worthing, West Sussex – by Dame Elizabeth Frink (1930-1993). Photos – Jempics

Oasis of Lovely

Amongst the towering walls of glass
the concrete and the steel
a sculpture hanging in the trees
is calming and genteel

Some will pass it unaware
heads buried in the sand
looking at the mobile glow
they carry in their hand

But some will see it hanging there
and pause a little while
to ponder at its meaning
and allow time for a smile

©Jemverse

Photo – tree sculpture on Euston Road, London – Jempics

Holes

Of all the pebbles on the beach
with virtues to extol
the ones which I love most of all
are those that have a hole

I try to find one every time
as it’s something that I do
And as I’ve lived here many years
I now have quite a few

I’ve worked some into sculptures
in my garden on the ground
Whilst I treasure most of all
are as ornaments around

They have a special quality
so when to the beach I come
I’ll not leave empty-handed
until I’ve found another one

©Jemverse

The beholder’s eye

Caught in the rocks on the beach from a storm
an old length of rope from a ship
Entangled and twisted by the hand of the sea
the land has it firm in its grip

Discarded, bereft; its purpose abused
mere flotsam to most who pass by
But to me it has beauty, a sculptural form
caught in the beholder’s eye

©Jemverse

In the eye of the beholder

Discarded flotsam on the beach
brought in by the seas
Left in crevices, caught on rocks
blowing in the breeze
Nets and ropes and driftwood
Nature’s sculpture shared
captured on a fragile beach
intrinsic beauty there
This gallery, this tactile form
on view for one and all
Changing with the moving tide
at its every rise and fall

©Jemverse

Shape and form

The change is subtle
happens slow
O’er many years
that come and go
With rise and fall
the shingle moves
and unseen hands
refine and smooth
But in every line
the sea has curved
I’m sure to find
poetic word
For like the sea
I find a way
to craft new lines
with words to say
This inspiration
given free
carved by the
mighty hand of sea

©Jemverse