In the one time
Of the long time
Of disappearance
From playing in the stream
Or laying on open moorland
Beside the trickling water
In the long time
Of the one time
Of remembrance
From kicking a ball
Or walking on the beach
Watching wave after wave after wave
In spring will I walk upon The Green
For all I’ve done so far is to rearrange the furniture
In springtime will I miss you more
Or is that another wistful wilful prediction
I was playing a brain training game
Having halfway sorted the sitting room
Why do I talk to the computer
Showing frustration at my own ineptitude
I only have my old memories
I must make some new ones
The past places have all gathered dust
I need to find somewhere shiny
In dream time or just before
I read a little of a lover’s love
For the book that she has found
For the story which she feels destined to tell
Listening to the cricket
England aiming to reach the semi-finals
Grey skies in the United Kingdom
But sunlight fills our hearts
The final leaves fall
As only the final leaves are able
The cricket nets
Have been pulled off
To the side of the pitch
Boy there’s been some downpours today
But not in Brisbane, Australia
Where England defeated New Zealand
To head back up the super 12 group 1
After that debacle with Ireland in the rain
If they weren’t so far away
It could be your boys coming to the wicket
To become heroes for the country on this day
When jet aircraft are grounded for remembrance
The Sheveling Wine Estate
Black Americano and Creme Brûlée
Yes, here at the top of the Holme Valley
Overlooking the vineyard on the hillside
There appears to be a problem allocating tables
Although I am sat by a window
It seems that the computer is at fault
Its algorithm’s being somewhat inflexible
I never knew quite so many romantics
Frequented the Holmfirth region
Not at least since Last of the Summer Wine
Brought tears to our visitor’s eyes
I myself, once the mid-life crisis lover
Wrote a levelling up letter, on the moor
Sat by a dry-stone summer’s wall
Where a butterfly kept me company
Law Common Road
On the way
To Cartworth Moor
Past the heather clad
Lands of the reservoir
Past the heathen led
Shooting grounds
Law Common Road
What does it mean
Is it a law
Which marks this as the way
To common ground
Not a place
To be shot at
Into the imaginary
As if the elbow on the knee
Would help the thoughts
To first bring the smile
Followed by a beautiful stirring
Of the heart
The spirit and the soul
How many have fallen away
How many have stayed the course
Yet this one room; home
As it will have been called before
Away from the imagination
As if the balls of the feet
Would follow the pathway
To first say thanks for the smile
Followed by beauty recurring
In the soul
The spirit and the heart
Shrouded by the mist of the green
The curious case
Of parcels arriving
Such are the wonders of rising early
In the light of the soft glow
Overheard communications
Each and every which way
Acknowledge the beauty of keeping in touch
There is a box in the shed
With a name I ought to know
I will go investigate shortly
But for now I aim to simply sit
Sit in that new found freedom
Not known for quite a long while
Such is this love of the time
To appreciate the arrival of morning
You may soon be rising
You may have risen already
Either way let us hope
Your day welcomes you
With open arms
I myself am closing down
Listening to dark time music
Catching me with its chasms
You may soon be leaving
You may have left already
This or that, let it be
Soul and spirit
Activate mind and body
This moving-on lark
It is a tiresome old affair
Whichever way I look at it
There is no TV screen
Just as
Wendell Berry would wish it
There is a radio
Which thus far has been restricted
To Radio 3
Not that I’m a classical man
No it was Pink Floyd
Who introduced me to long playing records
The welcome card suggests
That these are exciting times
With new adventures ahead
That’s it for now
Dvorak from New World Symphony
To close the show
