Poems from the Farnham Flower Festival

Kaleidoscope

My eyes gaze on such an ornate
Magnificent pattern
Glass gems held in a symmetrical mosaic
Glowing with brilliant light
Shapes and colours like a vivid prism rainbow
In a perfectly aligned stained glass window
Contained within this mini tube.
2019 felt like this…

But then I twisted the kaleidoscope
And everything changed
Fell apart
Jewelled shards became dishevelled, scattered
Collided, separated,
Broken fragments scrunching as a rainstick,
In disarray.
2020 felt like that…

But then a new pattern slowly emerged
Even more beautiful than the last
Everything again in harmony
A new design composed of the same elements
Beautifully, aesthetically glorious
Bright emeralds, rubies, amber and topaz
To savour, to once again bring joy and pleasure.
2021 feels like this…

Linda Daruvala

The Joys of Spring

As the seasons revolve spring gives me much the most joy.
The end of cold winter comes at last into sight
When those perky white snowdrops first cry out ahoy
To remind us dark days will soon bring us more light

Bright yellow daffodils really light up the scene
With crocuses busy and tulips resplendent
Flowers are a joy of spring each year to be seen
Add in the hyacinth with its powerful scent

Another highlight of spring is hearing again
The outburst of birdsong, soon to be in full spate
Take the blackbird with his melodic refrain
Sounds like ‘Can you hear me’ as if calling his mate

Spring finally ends with a crescendo of blossom
Flowering cherries galore, plums apples and pears
Buildings draped with wisteria look truly awesome
Wonderful spring brings a break from life’s daily cares.

John Littlewood

With the dawn of each brand-new day
Dusty cobwebs are swept away
Jewels adorn nature’s attire
Ravishing beauty to admire

Allay your worries, fears and regrets
Refresh, renew, is this a test?
Strength lies deep within
Pick up, dust off and begin

Step into a world of colour
Where rainbows merge into one another
Together we stride into the future
A never-ending united adventure.

Rashida Nasir

A Bright, New Dawn

As I look up toward the sky, clouds are racing.
They twist and turn, as they gather speed.
Their colours are mingled like a giant collage,
looking down upon the earth.
New life is emerging from the depths of winter,
where frost and ice has captured its prey.
Lakes and ponds that once were frozen,
are released from their unchanging prison,
as the waters race towards the sea.
Trees are bearing new life,
with buds forming and releasing their sweet aroma.
Grassy meadows are full of new life,
as insects march towards a new day.
Birds are gathering for their dawn chorus,
“Awake and see the rising sun, bid farewell to troubled times.”

Deborah Nobbs

You are Mighty Rich

Pray close that laptop, no more Twitter or Blog.
Where are your hopes, your dreams and wonder?
You have been blinded by the media my friend
and it’s black cloud you now sit under.

Mate, look at the birds, the trees, the flowers,
Know their song, their strength, their colour.
Breathe in the beauty of these simple things,
Refresh your mind and weary pallor.

Not much in the bank, yet you are mighty rich,
With love, family, hope and laughter.
Grab them! Drink them! Enjoy them again!
For they are yours, forever after.          

Sue Ratcliffe

As time passes,
We forget.
Forget the flower blooming on your window ledge,
Forget the tree growing solemnly behind your garden shed.
Forget the birds that sing every morning in the light of dawn,
Forget the intricate vines that crawl up, outside, on your walls.
Forget what life was like before all this,
Forget how to adapt to the world in light of this pandemic.
But now is not the time to forget.
But for a time for hope to begin blooming in our hearts.
It’s a time for understanding, peace, and joy,
So that we don’t let our loneliness destroy,
The one thing that the world cannot change:
For us to soon be all together again.

Eisha Sohail

Hope is like the birds chirping away
Like the smell of the sea by the bay
Joy is like flowers blooming
Like the glittering fireworks booming
Beauty is like the glimmer of crystals
Who knew life could be so blissful

Kashfa Sohail

Joy and peace
Words of content
Hard to gain but easy to lose
Simple steps to obtain this
Be nice and kind its all worthwhile
If someone’s sad make them smile
Be nice and kind its all worthwhile
Once you are nice and kind
You will feel joy and pride.

Wadood, age 13

Poem of Hope and Joy

Ring out from church and steeple,
Announce to all the people
That ingenious minds work day and night
To put the Covid threat to flight
And find a jab for every variant
Of this disease, ’till from the Orient
To Brazil it will be truly beaten back,
And Life again will come on track.

All countries must come within the fold
Of immunised communities,
And then all families, precious as gold,
Will be bound in Unity.

The Environment we aim to heal
And make our restoration real.
We’ll listen to Greta, and make the world better,
Clean up the seas and ban pollution,
Respect all nations, that’s the solution.
Let’s harness this altruistic trend
And dedicate ourselves to mend 
Our broken and divided world.

As we emerge from our hibernations
And begin to receive Invitations
To the Unmasked Ball,
And are no longer in thrall
To meeting on Zoom –
Come into the room,
Let’s Celebrate – no need to wait –
When those distant greetings are over and done
You can throw your arms around everyone!

Live Music is the hope for all.
Let’s raise the roof in every hall
And sing the Hallelujah Chorus
And other music, just as joyous
To raise our spirits, share the load,
Inspire us on the road ahead.

We will not waste the life we have,
But ‘seize the day’, dispense with strife. 
A new age now is slowly dawning,
‘And joy cometh in the morning’.

Frances Whewell

Belief in life below

Faith is the bare branch of a tree,
Chapped, grey, naked, and brittle
Bending, creaking, threatening to snap
In the cruel wind of winter;
Rising sap just a memory,
Unsure it will happen again.

It requires patience, endurance,
Readiness to flex in the storm
Courage to drive down your roots
Further, deeper into cold soil;
Faith is seeing the hard, dark earth
And believing in life below.

Faith is the precursor to hope,
Revealed in the smallest bud,
The slight suppleness of the branch,
The faintest breath of warmer air;
Sunlight growing longer, stronger
And bird call beyond the storms.

Hope is the bud’s stealthy swelling,
Turning its head to seek the sun
Supping sunlight through infant leaves,
Fragile, timid yet resolute,
Thin shoots, crushable, obstinate,
Life struggling from the hard, dark earth.

Hope is the hint we can unfurl,
Leave our tight buds of fear behind,
Unreasonably reasoning
That there will be again a time
Of sudden, brazen bursts of life
Profusely and recklessly here.

Hope is eternally stubborn
As it seeks and seeps through the cracks,
Forces itself into corners,
Slips under firmly bolted doors
And explodes impertinently
In blossoms of sudden laughter.

Hope leads you into the meadows,
Opens your eyes to see colours,
Teaches you to tune your senses,
To the swoop and the music of
Birds, breezes, insects, pollen, seeds
And to feel the sun kiss your face.

Hope is the precursor to joy,
Joy that can be uncovered,
Small, hushed, hidden, nestled
In spaces between roots of trees,
In blossoms, in cocoons and webs,
In the beating heart of the world.

Joy is a dance and a stillness,
An echoing whoop, a silence,
A laugh, a smile, a contentment,
A quiet coming alongside,
A turning of the hard, dark earth
To reveal the life promised within.

Stella Wiseman