Last day in Lyme

No.11 in the Jemverse series ‘Down in Dorset’

On our last day we went back to Lyme
to look for fossils on the beach
heading westward from the town
to one in easy reach
And found them, oh I think we did
some massive ones at that
in boulders far too heavy
to take home and that's a fact

So I built a sculpture with flat stones
I found and balanced there
quite pleased with my achievement
took photographs to share
And the sun as it had been all week
shone down and warmed and beamed
as we sat down and rested
on the sand and looked and dreamed

For this was our swansong glory
so we wanted it to be
quite special to remember
down in Dorset by the sea
So after ice creams on the Cob
as by these words you'll tell
it has been all of that besides
and memorable as well

©Jemverse

Photo – stone tower, Monmouth Beach, Lyme Regis, Dorset – Jempics [The tower is about 4 feet high]

Seaton Beach Tree

No 8 in the Jemverse series ‘Down in Dorset’

By the orange cliffs at Seaton
on the beach is a dead tree
looking like a natural sculpture
beside East Devon's sea

Of course I had to get a closer look
so I walked along the beach
til I was close to where it was
with it in easy reach

It really was quite lovely
sculpted there by nature's hand
A little sad that it was dead
yet still it's proud to stand

Apparently it got there
when a massive chunk of cliff
one winter slipped into the sea
coastal erosion shift

And the tree it was deposited
upright and still alive
where for several years it prospered
and continued there to thrive

But battered by the winter storms
and exposed there to the sea
its demise was written in the wind
so died one year sadly

And yet its stump and whitened roots
remain there to this day
here on the beach at Seaton
In East Devon long to stay

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Moulded

Shaped though many hours
by the touch of sea and sand
this wonderful breakwater
now moulded by their hand
encapsulates the aura
that this seascape holds for me
from a life spent here in Sussex
on the beach and near the sea

This sculpted inspiration
with a charm there of its own
has long held fascination
from the years here I have known
and though these precious heirlooms
are now fading over time
I will capture them for memory
where they stay uniquely mine

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Points of Departure

Down on the docks this evening
as the day turned into the night
we had the special privilege
of a truly lovely sight
Part of the Brighton Festival
an experience to share
called 'Points of Departure'
to entertain us there

And it was quite ethereal
the sounds around us strange
as sculptures interacted
our perception there to change
Perhaps made even stranger
with the facemarks that we wore
it added to the ambiance
to excite us all the more

Lights shone all around us
some bright and some subdued
as we wandered the environment
and its presence we imbued
And then when it was finished
the spaced-out crowd clapped loud
for the sculptor and the Festival
which had there done us all proud

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

‘Points of Departure‘ – an interactive experience from New York sculptor, Ray Lee

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