Images Replayed

Images replayed

We are what we are not in a picture that we paint

The one where the mirror lies and says just what we ain’t

The image that once might have been now seems to be faint

Lost are parental dreams that we might be like a saint

The scenes in the mind sometimes seem so sharp and clear

I play them over again as if all were real and actually here

A past that is distant lies ahead and all seems so near

Then I awaken as if the world reminds me of the fear

Was the missile a nightmare and why do I replay the scene

Dust following an explosion blacks out the sunbeam

I am the debris searching for my missing queen

Wishing for the waking to wipe the mind clean

I’ll sit in the sunshine and drift off in non-sleep

From peripheral shadows the haunting will creep

I don’t fear the darkness I do fear the deep

So much I would lose but what would I keep

Copyright: David Hopcroft January 2024

The Seagull

The Seagull

I watched the patience of the builder upon the roof

Wise enough to determine the pitch of the double slope

Selecting the corner that was the highest point

Gathering the rough twigs to lay down a foundation

Woven so carefully to provide stability

Though to the human eye this might seem but a pile

Then smaller twigs added to form the shallow bowl

A finishing of moss and grass to line her nest

Eggs laid now begins the challenge of incubation

Sitting patiently regardless of the wind and the rain

Instinctive love that protects before offspring are born

Whilst within the shell new life is growing fast

A food supply there to nourish all their needs

Until the shell breaks and the chick can emerge

A programmed pattern as beak taps against shell

First the head and then the body can emerge

Four squawking youngsters express their need for food

Each day now spent satisfying gawking mouths

Where their appetite seems impossible to fill

One day I know that they will flee the nest

I too hope to say a farewell to this room

To stretch out my life for a few more years

Gaining hope and inspiration from what I have observed

Like the seagull I know I will persist once again

Copyright: David Hopcroft June 2020

Baba Barleycorn

Baba Barleycorn

My granny told me that she lived in a brown cardboard box

That was kept on a shelf in the cream and blue hut

Which stood at the bottom of our small garden

Where the door was always kept locked and shut

She would ride out at night on her birch broom

Riding behind her was her large black cat

Baba’s long purple dress flowed out behind

On her head she wore a black pointed hat

My grandmother had told me everything about her

Said she’d moved into the box from a black leather shoe

She seemed to know so much about Baba

That I was convinced the all she said must be true

She had so many stories about Baba to tell me

Some made me shiver and I felt my hair stand

I wondered would there be a time I saw Baba

Although that thought alone gave me a trembling hand

Was it true that she took children who were naughty

Did she really have iron teeth and a really long nose

And did she kidnap children to put in her soup

I never did meet her so I guess nobody really knows

Copyright: David Hopcroft January 2024

Баба ячмінний

Бабуся сказала мені, що вона живе в коричневій картонній коробці

Це зберігалося на полиці в кремово-синій хаті

Який стояв внизу нашого маленького саду

Там, де двері завжди тримали замкненими та закритими

Вона їхала вночі на своєму березовому мітлі

Їхав за нею її великий чорний кіт

Довге фіолетове плаття Баби витікало позаду

На голові вона носила чорну загострену шапку

Бабуся розповіла мені все про неї

Сказала, що переїхала з чорного взуття в коробку

Вона ніби так багато знає про Бабу

Що я був переконаний, все, що вона сказала, має бути правдою

У неї було так багато історій про Бабу, щоб розповісти мені

Деякі змусили мене тремтіти, і я відчув, як стоять волосся

Мені було цікаво, чи буде час, коли я побачив Бабу

Хоча ця сама думка дала мені тремтячу руку

Чи правда, що вона брала дітей, які були неслухняними?

У неї справді були залізні зуби і справді довгий ніс?

А вона викрала дітей, щоб готувати в супі?

Я ніколи не зустрічався з нею, тому, мабуть, ніхто насправді не знає

Авторські права: Девід Хопкрофт січень 2024 року

Picture Unframed: The Glade

Picture Unframed: The glade

The log had become a friend to her

A place of both memory and hope

So much that could linger and occupy her mind

The history stored in a hundred rings or more

Until the old beech had fallen in an Autumn storm

The best of the timber seized by a local farmer

But a part still lay peacefully in the open glade

A bracket fungus was growing at one end

Spreading over the rings in gentle orange waves

The log had become a home for so many

Moss hung from the peeling bark

Which itself was clinging to the old trunk

She could still see the dark green colour

As reflected rays from a full moon lit up the scene

A moon bright enough to cast a shadow beneath a nearby oak

She gazed into the beauty of the night sky

Looking for the patterns among the stars

Twinkling forms that seemed so close

Yet in space were many light years away

Lights in the sky that had guided so many to their homes

She remembered him showing her the pond

Where the night sky was reflected from still water

How in olden times this was used to map the sky

She had waited for him before in this glade

A small enclosure that had become theirs at night

A rustling in the trees behind her

A small animal perhaps a squirrel not yet at rest

Returning to a family in a drey

Now she detected the sound of twigs

As the squirrel found its home

Now a hoot coming from further away

The sound traveling effortlessly through the sky

An owl was announcing a presence

But for whom was this message intended

She watched the form glide effortlessly overhead

Heading out over the ripening fields of wheat

Then the silence once more

She sat on the log and waited

A new feeling came over her

That of being aware she was not alone

The eyes were staring at her

She could see them beyond the gorse bushes

The eyes seemed to capture her

As she stared back without moving her head

What was it that they shared

The two of them in this glade

So late on an Autumn night

Then she must have made a slight movement

Startling her onlooker

As the deer turned and sped into the night

Leaving her once more alone with her thoughts

Thinking of him and all the times she had waited before

The nervousness of wondering if he would come

How her mind would wander

Between the hope and the fear

How her heart would beat a little faster

When she heard his footsteps

A tread that had become imprinted in her mind

Tonight was different

Why had she come

Was it to relive a memory

Was there still some hope even a belief

That he would come again

She sat patiently upon her log

No it was upon their log

Watching the moon traverse the night sky

Until her heart would lead her homewards

Where she would pass the graveyard

Where the stone stood

Could her life ever be the same

Copyright: David Hopcroft January 2024

Blessing for the year

May the wheel of Arianrhod turn throughout the coming year
Inspiring you to move onward and to achieve without any fear
May Anam Cara listen to your heart throughout the days
With wisdom to guide you gently in your ways
May the waters of Non and Winefride care for your health
Let strength of spirit be a measure of your wealth
May Ceridwen’s cauldron hold the drops of awen
To lead you along the pathways of each glen
May Lludd Llaw be the guardian of your nightly dreams
All joy and happiness descending from moonbeams
May the bow of destiny rest within your hair
Let loved ones in to show how much they care
May sanctuary be yours within the oaken grove
To find the inner peace in the pattern you have wove
May you rise to the smiling face of Lleu each morning
Dance in the warmth of another dawning
May the birds of Rhiannon brighten your life with song
Let their words help to find a place where you belong
Let your smile be the greeting for each morning
Let your laughter be the brightness of each day
Let your words be comfort for healing
Let your touch be as soft as the lamb

© David Hopcroft December 2000

Beyond the crystal ball

Beyond the crystal ball

The future lies so far beyond the crystal ball

Past the ever-swirling mists of uncertainty

Breaking away from the claws of shackled beasts

Hope will not be found by clinging to frayed thread

Where fading memories can so easily obscure

Sweep clear the dusty corners of the mind

Make way for the person you can become

Those ghostly voices may be lurking deep within

Can give way to music that is so much sweeter to the ear

See how the clouds are lifting from the peaks

Soon dawn will be breaking over lowland hills

Don’t let the witch-hunters hold you back

With false promises they’ll not change their ways

The like comes now from the east with hope

The warmth of the day is felt upon the face

I see new shoots pushing through the lawn

Breaking free from winter cold

Soon the snowdrops will bloom again

My heart will sing out once more

False promises lie like decaying leaves

There is no crystal ball to guide

You are the source of your belief

Rise and step out along the path

Copyright: David Hopcroft January 2024