THE WEEKLY WALKABOUT, E.G.

(From my life's work which, yes, in terms of versification, "finished" at the end of 2002 - however, I'm sure some of you will be thrilled to know that, in another vein, it contiues, as I am know learning to mimic my "Chants from Walkabouts" (a CD) on the tenor-recorder/English-flute, and have already done recorder intro's to two of them at folk clubs, here in NE England. (To Catspaw - please kinkly keep that kind of language in the kittie-litter.)

Poem 112 of 230: FROM AN ECCLES FLAT - SPRING 2000

The bedroom window's southerly views
    Contained allotters paying their dues -
All kinds of veg. brought to fruition,
    And youngsters receiving tuition;
Starlings and sparrows I'd often see -
    On a roof or a nearby tree;
And, in a distant poplar perched high,
    The large twiggy nest of a magpie;
In spring, daisies would yellow the floor -
    Matched by Forsythias, grown next door;
Behind terraces, a moony crest -
    The Dome of the new Trafford complex;
And the moon itself, in the right spot,
    Would light the night's clouds up quite a lot.

The kitchen window's northerly views
    Included an agent selling news;
A butcher struggling with position -
    Much sunlight aimed at his nutrition;
And a popular English chippie -
    Mashed peas and red sauce on top, for me;
White gulls dotting a sombre grey sky,
    Plus light- and large-aircraft flying by;
Walkers and traffic would make a roar -
    At peak travel hours all the more;
Handsomely-set skies toward the west
    As the day's sun took its nightly rest;
And a bucket-pond and ivy plot,
    That, on a shoestring, I loved a lot.

From walkaboutsverse.741.com