We made the best sandcastle
that a beach has ever seen
it took us several hours to make
a mark where we had been
Little children paused to stare
and admire it with a smile
for it was truly massive
and took all of us a while
It had a moat and curtain walls
bridges, steps and towers
and when we'd finished it we knew
that it was wholly ours
We'd made the best sandcastle
Camber sands has ever seen
and whilst it stands you'll surely know
that Crouchers there have been
Six miles and thirteen thousand steps
reversed, the loop's still fine
as this quite pleasant circuit
is something wholly mine
Takes around two hours
with a few stops in between
to savour once again the views
amongst the best I've seen
For this is Sussex and my home
we share a synergy
taking full advantage of
each other's company
Through a gap in the bushes
I spied Shoreham town
nestled there under the Downs
twixt me and the sea
safe there in the lea
the bearer of treasure and crowns
And I smiled in the knowledge
that this was my home
the place I am so pleased to live
for it has everything
to make my heart sing
with the riches it serves there to give
These chalky trails on Sussex loam
in these green hills above my home
are quite the best so many times
I will return as they are mine
and with a joy I'll shout aloud
this is my Sussex and I'm proud
It was back to the loop
with a whim and a way
as the sun was quite warm
on this late April day
and I was on leave
and the hills were all green
and the chalk of the trail
is the best I have seen
so I put best foot forward
with this walk 'cos it's there
reacquainting myself
with this pleasure to share
There's a green ship in the harbour
up the river quite a bit
much further on than usual
so I took a pic of it
Rarely dredged of course these days
the building silt means most
will rarely venture up this far
at Shoreham on the coast
A far cry from my yesterdays
when every berth was full
so good to see the odd one still
with time's incessant pull
At the end of April, summer
made an early show of hand
as the sun shone warm on Sussex
fair across this pleasant land
So I put a best foot forward
took advantage with no shame
once more into the hedgerow
bordered pathways, trails and lane
Exploring parts of Sussex
I had never been before
in this lovely springtime sunshine
as that's just what it is for
Above the eighteenth century village
through yellow gorse and sand
on the edge of Ashdown Forest
neath shady beech trees grand
we climbed to top of Ashbourne Hill
walked past the airman's grave
silent in memorial
this bright day April gave
then back down through Campfields rough
crossing Small Brown's brook
to conclude this four-mile circle
at the starting path we took
Beside old Railway Gardens this old flint wall has stood
built two hundred years ago but still it's looking good
And if its stones could talk and tell the history of the years
of Shoreham since the railway came of all those toils and tears
What a merry tale that would be for us who live
in this town beside the sea and what we wouldn't give
For history books are great to have but the interesting essence
can only come from something that has stood from past to present
So sadly we will never know for these old walls are still
and silent from the years they've seen as they forever will
From up here with this vista
three sixty turn around
I can see the hills I've walked upon
on this fair Sussex ground
Some are many miles away
feint shadows in the mist
but all of them both near and far
my feet have trod and kissed
For this kingdom is my Sussex
with its flint and chalky sod
all its hills and pastures
touched by the hand of God
So whenever opportunity
gives me the power to roam
I offer up a prayer of thanks
that Sussex is my home
...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...
Jemverse 