Terry Ireland Poet Rhyme

Reunion, May 2012

The village has grown bigger
The way that villages do
Parts  have been demolished
And parts of it are new.
The Hotel has expanded,
Very little is the same,
Except the warm atmosphere 
And they’ve kept the name.

Nearly fifty years gone since
We were last together there,
Faces changed and wrinkled
And some have lost their hair.
But, these aging bodies house
Minds that are young at heart
So much reminiscing to do 
To cover all those years apart.

Thoughts of those friends
We’ve lost over the years
Absent friends toasts made
Eyes maybe holding unshed tears.
There’s a walk around the area
And on up to the camp site
Retracing those footsteps
Made after many a boozy night.

Most of the buildings are gone,
The Square  weeds and grass,
Sure sign of a  changing world
As time has steadily passed.
Most of it now new built housing,
An upmarket residential estate
No longer a guarded entry
No longer a guardroom and gate.

The operations block a clubhouse
For the eighteen hole golf course
Now a recreational area once
Inhabited by a military work force.
For years she guarded democracy
Kept an ever watchful eye
But priorities perceived to have 
Changed as years have gone by.

We have walked around our past
Taken note of the changes seen
Each awash with his memories
Each glad that he’s been.
Then we part at the station as
Our reunion finally ends
After all those years glad we took 
A chance to see some old friends.

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Deb M August 29, 2023 at 12:30 AM Terry such an amazing poem of reflection and wonderful memories….a real and very special write! Debx Terry Ireland August 29, 2023 at 12:48 AM Thanks Deb - it was a spacial few days. There were 8 of us, and we met another who lived locally. Since then we are down to 5. Time passes.

Speaks Volumes August 28, 2023 at 8:31 PM Brilliant Terry. So wonderful to see old comrades, riminess about old times, but also glad there is no need for the old buildings, that once accommodated soldiers, and is now used for pleasure as a gold club. "Eyes with unshed tears" got me. Mine were shed. You have a way of taking the reader right to the place. No unnecessary words in your poems, just earthy realism. Rolls of the tongue right into the heart. I could read your poetry all day, and sometimes I do, and nothing gets done ! Its a choice of Dennis Paterson or Ireland. Ireland often wins. :) Terry Ireland August 29, 2023 at 12:46 AM I don't know what to say to that, except thanks for all your support Wen.

Terry Flood August 28, 2023 at 3:18 PM It sure is weird when you meet up with someone you’ve not seen in years and you note how old they’ve got… and you simply know that they’re noting how old you’ve got… A smashing nostalgic write, Terry, enjoyed. Terry Ireland August 29, 2023 at 12:45 AM Thanks Terry, except thanks to Skype some off us had been in touch so it wasn't such a shock.

Ilene Bauer August 28, 2023 at 12:30 PM A touching description, Terry! I could picture it perfectly… Terry Ireland August 29, 2023 at 12:44 AM Thanks ilene. It was special because i was in a dark places having lost my wife Irene just six months before after 42 years marriage. The Vets insisted I went and the reunion helped me come to terms.