Best Cowslips Poems
I remember, oh how I remember
the years that have gone by.
Our doors were never bolted
our windows never closed.
Women had part-time jobs
knocking on doors all afternoon,
their comely voices bidding:
Madam 'tis Avon calling for you.
Meantime grandma would sit
outside the house and gossip
with friends who passed her by,
whilst we would wander all alone
in fun parks or green meadows,
flying our gaudy coloured kites,
and gathering cowslips for our dear mum.
The balmy breeze wafted over the prairie,
Where yellow cowslips huddled in patches.
And here and there I heard a whisper echoing:
Love her, love her, love her.
But she seemed deaf and preferred the wounded wind.
How easy it was to forget and never recapture
All my wistful whisper, I would always love you.
Those sweet nothings of past affections.
We no longer trudged the path made up for two.
Forgotten were those bygone days
When we believed that thistledown tufts
Were really friendly fairies in disguise.
Thus she escaped my clutches
And like a unicorn disappearing in an eclipse,
I headed for a dull and empty living
Blaming her uselessly for I still loved her.
Weren't we the product of our time?
We slammed the doors of love in our own faces,
Building woeful walls around us
Painting it with a tinge of misunderstanding,
When we could lead such a colorful life,
Giving our hearts a chance,
Laughing at ourselves.....
And sending a whisper,
a woeful whisper to the moon above.
Placed First
What a wonderful time nature will bring
this exceptional season we call Spring,
sounds of birds, amazing aromas, smells
beautiful cowslips, primrose and bluebells,
fresh feel in the air,green shoots of new crops
colourful tulips, pansies, and snowdrops,
misty mornings, dew on the lush green grass
trumpets of daffodils, tulips, crocus,
warmth from bright sun rays, sense of optimism
peonies, sweet peas and pink cherry blossom,
longer warm days, shorter nights that delights
hyacinth, freesias, wonderful sights,
goodbye bad weather frost, wind and rain
hello new growth new life happy again.
16/03/2017.
Azaleas with their vibrant jewelled colours mingle with
Begonias to bring beauty to my garden borders.
Calendula or Marigolds in glorious gold dazzle me like spring sunshine.
Daffodils dance delightfully on a zephyr breeze whilst
Exochorda macrantha is like a spring bride dressed in white pearls.
Forsythia with bright yellow blossom is such a sunny spring shrub
Gentiana is the queen of the alpines with its blue star like blooms.
Hyacinths with their heady scent are stunning when placed with
Irises in lovely lilac shades and grown in the same container.
Jonquil blooms are beautiful with many flowers on one stem.
Koreanspice viburnum provides colour and scent with their fragrant flowers.
Lily of the valley is sweetly scented but be wary as it is poisonous.
Magnolia’s magnificent flowers remind me of pink stars in the daytime.
Nemisia gives out superb scent and a splash of colour.
Oxlips look like large cowslips but with yellow primula flowers
Pansies remind me of smiling faces and brighten my pots
Quince trees produce pretty pink flowers in late spring
Rhododendrons provide a riot of springtime colour
Scillia or bluebells are abundant in April and May
Trillium thrive in a shady spot in your garden
Ulex or gorse gives a golden glow in the hedgerows
Violets have tiny flowers that can be sugared for pretty decorations.
Wallflowers grow anywhere in our gardens … not just by walls!!!
Xeranthemum or immortal flowers are related to sunflowers.
Yarrow has a lovely scent and can be used for medicinal purposes.
Zephyranthes robusta or rain lilies thrive in spring showers.
Spring Abecadarian Contest Sponsored by Shadow Hamilton
04~19~16
We strolled along deserted lanes
lined by straggly rubble walls,
adorned by yellow cowslips,
perfumed with early wild narcissus,
and music, a fine harmony,
performed by finches of all colours
Whilst blue **** and sparrow fly from tree to tree.
I lingered there, hoping I could get away
from the fathomless worries of the weary world,
or perhaps find rest in an eternal quietude.
We walked hand in hand, listening to the rill
Its clear waters zigzagging downwards.
She stared at the rivulet with wonderment.
I admired her composure, her interest
In all around her, a stoic tranquillity.
I invited her to sit besides me on a wooden bench.
Enjoy the vast silent panorama of the countryside.
No other human could be seen in the vicinity
Except far off, a farmer tilled his field.
She put her head against my shoulder.
We uttered not one word. It was pure bliss.
I realized love can be silent,
For utter silence is true love.
Towards the middle of the April the wind changes and the showers fall,
We hide under the branches of an old fir tree sheltering from the rain,
All is well as the rain sweeps across the shallow mead's rippling waters,
There is a fluorescent greenness in the grass and buds begin to open.
Walking through villages old parks over commons, heaths and meadows,
Stretching legs running over commons after a long and very hard winter,
Larks sing in the sweetest air as blackbirds swoop from grand oak trees,
A child looks amazed at the change nature makes his eyes wide as saucers.
Standing on common land flocks of goslings pale green like new catkins,
Protected by squawking and chasing parents should anything come near,
Gorse in full bloom in the leafless woods while primroses bask in the rain,
Turf on these lands are thick with violets, cowslips grow in fine meadows.
The ox lip, half primrose half cowslip begins to mature into a thick bloom,
Looking across square fields enclosed by thousand year old hedgerows,
Old orchards grass is littered with white violets side by side with daisy's,
A Purple wood spurge hangs pale-green flowers among tufts of alyssum.
PRESENT PERFECT in SUMMER SCHOOL
CONJUGATION
I have yearned
Thou hast returned
He has departed
She has kissed faint hearted
We have voiced warm greetings
They’ve had timid meetings
The young ones the old ones
The joiners and the out-in-the-cold ones
The sad boys the bad boys
The mild boys and the wild boys
The Shy girls, the sly girls
The good girls and no-better-than-they-should girls
The skivers and the strivers
The schemers and the dreamers
PAST HISTORIC
I retain affection
In retrospection
She with the bright eager face and wisdom beyond her age
He in the body of a boy but with full grown mind of a sage
He the humble giant, driven to knowledge that he pursues
She with the questing soul of a scholar and romantic heart of a muse
They have devolved
The Earth has revolved
And today we elect
To teach Present Perfect
PRESENT
Outside the classroom
Sun cloud and tree dapple the grassy vale
Aspens tremble, willows sway in graceful measures
Blackbird, thrush and warbler trill a delicate scale
Daisies, buttercups, cowslips scatter transient treasures
Above and beyond in skies azure and white
Skylarks ascend, red kites soar in cerulean
And in their chosen study focus sight
Gaze down upon this blest Elysian scene
PERFECT
The chestnuts are in full flower and the sycamores are humming with bees,
Meadow grass is knee deep full of flowers, the dog rose climbs up a fence,
The cowslips sway gently like the sea in the corner of a lime green meadow,
Cowslips retire at the end of May their day is now over we say a sad goodbye.
Blackberry bushes burst into glowing white flowers protected by sharp thorns,
Grass grows higher around the hedges of the glade than a working corn field,
Sitting on a bank by a river gushing, bubbling and boiling from earlier rains,
And in the grey shrubbery a squirrel plays in the grass and two swallows sing.
Nests are found high in the trees and deep bushes guarded by jealous mums,
Lapsing waters and blossoms are perfect partners and sweet grasses rustle,
The blossoms of the many apple trees change and blow away by a May breeze,
Blossom floats on rushing water sailing away swirling towards the rough sea.
The old quince is in full bloom with its pale flowers and bright yellow leaves,
The weather is warm not too hot just right for a long stroll with a midday sun,
Walk the river banks with its mustard tribes next to the mature giant colts-foot,
Wander over to a copse of trees hiding blue-bells that are singing and ringing.
Catkins
and cowslips,
primroses too-
celandine stars..yellow
my view
Listen carefully: those are bells ringing.
To whom are they calling?
From where come the peals?
Here in the wild countryside
the pale-yellow cowslips
dance a lonely jig
to the tune of the wayward breeze,
dispersing their melliferous fragrance,
gracing us with their herbal remedies.
And still the bells peal!
Do they toll for me?
Reminding me of my needs?
Shall I gather the cowslips?
What shall I do with weeds?
There see them grow in the vale
or along the riverbanks
where waters rush headlong,
zigzagging through the silvery alleys,
making their way to the far off sea.
And the bells still peal!
The cowslips sway in the breeze.
I stand still devoid of fantasy,
empty of coherent dreams.
What will I gain from cowslips?
except distil it in my cellar
and enjoy its narcotic sips?
Still do the bells toll?
Why? What for?
My heart knows, of course.
I find a shade, I kneel, I pray.
Let the bells toll.
I've heard as cowslips bend their heads.
SUMMER DAYS
Watch a swallow swoop
and pass above an old meadow,
lush with grass. Speckled starlings
sing with delight over flying ants
in nuptial flight. Buckthorn in a dense
hedge screen. Ceanothus ,shaded green
Jasmine,Honeysuckle,Bittersweet
scents to mingle in summer heat
Clouds of teasels spiral tall
'midst dancing grasses against a wall
wandering wasps picnicing un-checked
onto perfumed petals,paperwhite
first intoxicate,then delight,
high above Cauliflower clouds,nimbus
topped weep a shower of warm tear-drops.
PASTURES GONE
buttercup yellow
kissing cowslips
dandelion,poppy and daisy,
corn marigold
cow parsley and clover,
a willow that weeps
and meadow-sweet,
deep in a forgotten pasture.
Listen to me read these poems on youtube under name ichthyschiro
There is a sparrow-hawk souring high and low around a huge forest,
Searching, just above the ground into the farm lands and gardens,
He swoops down in a morning sun an atmosphere soft and delightful,
Like a bullet over cowslips and primroses, there is one less robin,
His tail is long and slim it sets him apart from the other hawks,
He flies through his skies clipping the abundant nightingale wings,
Although his eyes see for miles he flies fast and near the ground,
Young pheasants hide in the rich green grass of a lush hidden meadow.
The secret meadow has been left untouched and alone for many years,
Home to the Austrian briar, Guelder roses and fiery orange poppies
Enjoying the peace of a spring morning the grass rich with clover,
The hawk catches a small bird that hangs in the air and swoops away.
The air of the grass is delicious, scattered flowers nod in a breeze,
Butcher-birds are noisy a sure sign that they have some young chicks,
Turtle-doves are abundant in the near by forest well hidden by thorns,
Above all, in an old oak a hawk sits watching, waiting for his dinner.
Sticthchwort,speedwell,celandine
Sprinkled in the dew
Jostle in the rain,with feverfew-
Cowslips ,delicate as lace
Evidence God's grace
Glowing candles flicker an imminent grief,
Undulant meadows sink then moments brief,
A recluse in silence deep, torment lies only if
Truth recoups when heavy gravels lift,
An answer wayward a curse or a gift.
Cowslips they unfold of features like Jen,
Savages abscond when clock strikes ten,
Perverse acts send hungry crowds lighten,
Hubris hold invariably the psyche taken,
Perils unforeseen pulses of men quicken.
Children's lax inexpiable chides mother,
Intrinsic in nature mud ponds splatter,
Bare foots they wrestle, would spectators rather?
Such complacency splits its odd feather,
A pervasive yet reprehensible matter.
Pictures in frames of tumultuous memories,
Mutinous rogues, malevolent the eye that sees,
To confer one's wish in return good ceases,
Tentative strokes across sheets her will flees,
Exacerbates her desires tenfold with ease.
buttercup yellow
kissing cowslips
dandelion,poppy and daisy,
corn marigold
cow parsley and clover,
a wilow that weeps
and meadow-sweet,deep
in a forgotten pasture.