The churchyard is shrouded in snow.
Trees stand stark against the white.
I know
The delight
Of snow
The Delight Of Snow
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Tag Archives: nature
Rain
“Rain” was written some 4 years ago and does not currently appear in any of my books. Below is a recording of me reading the poem,
Were I To Walk Barefoot
Were I to walk barefoot
In these leaves
On this cold
Sunny day,
People would say
“He is mad”.
Yet I should be glad
To be free
As the windblown tree
“The Sigh That Heaves The Grasses” By A E Housman
The sigh that heaves the grasses
Whence thou wilt never rise
Is of the air that passes
And knows not if it sighs.
The diamond tears adorning
Thy low mound on the lea,
Those are the tears of morning,
That weeps, but not for thee.
—
I like the unsentimental nature of this poem. As with much of Housman’s verse, there is no sentimentality here. Some poets attribute human qualaties to the natural world. Not so Housman. In “The Sigh That Heaves The Grasses”, the forces of nature: (the air and the dew), have no awareness of themselves, nor of the dead who sleeps in the “low mound on the lea” The morning dew resembles human tears shed for the dead, but it is not (and can not) be so, for the dew is not human.
A Bird Sang
A bird sang
In the churchyard as I
Passed by.
A thought unbidden sprang
Into my heart.
For all my art
I know that I shall die.
Hibernation
It is cold.
Should I be bold
And go outside?
Or like a tortoise, hibernate?
I can not decide.
It is late
In the year.
A thought most drear
Does take
Hold .
Not all tortoises awake
From the cold.
I pray
For a spring day.
Butterfly
A butterfly flits from flower to flower.
It’s hour
‘Tis brief,
But man knows grief
These Trees
These trees
Ask nothing of me.
The rain
Does not disdain
Me, so why do I
With wood nymphs dally
And tally
The cost of dry
Flowers?
So many hours
Spent
Incomplete,
Watering things replete
With artificial scent
Did You Hear The Owl?
“Did you hear the owl?” I said, as we sat in my living room.
(It will be over soon.
The prey caught
I thought).
“No” you replied.
Twice more the bird cried
But you heard
Not a word
He said.
The bed
Was hot
And the owl you did not see
Forgot by me.
Poems Inspired By The Great North Wood
Great North Wood, London, UK
Several of my poems have been inspired by the Great North Wood, one of the remnents of which is some 2-3 minutes walk from my home, http://www.wildlondon.org.uk/great-north-wood. I have spent many hours walking my dogs in Spa Woods, which form part of The Lawns, https://www.croydon.gov.uk/leisure/parksandopenspaces/parksatoz/the-lawns.
This afternoon I came across several volunteers from The Great North Wood/The Friends of Spa Woods engaged in conservation. A bonfire was going and invasive plants (laurel introduced in the Victorian era) was in the process of being removed to prevent it from stifling the growth of native flora.
The wonderful thing about The Lawns is that it was left to the local community and it is maintained by volunteers, who do excellent work to ensure that it remains a real oasis, which can be enjoyed by dog walkers and anyone in search of a little peace and tranquillity.
Below are examples of those poems of mine which have been influenced by my proximity to (and connection with) The Great North Wood:
The Path Through The Woods – https://newauthoronline.com/2017/04/03/k-morris-reading-his-poem-the-path-through-the-woods/
Wood In The Rain – https://rhymepoetry.wordpress.com/2017/05/21/wood-in-the-rain/
Owl – https://newauthoronline.com/2016/07/17/owl-2/
An Owl Hunting – https://newauthoronline.com/2016/03/31/an-owl-hunting/
K Morris - Poet 