GOOD FRIENDS

How nice it is for friends to meet

And have a little natter

The topic can be anything

It really doesn't matter.

A cup of tea and biscuits

And pleasant company

A chat about the good old days

And how things used to be.

We didn't have a telly

Or a mobile phone

But with friends like we had

We never were alone.

Betty Watt, Durham

THE HUNGRY SPARROW HAWK

He invades my garden almost every day

What can I do to stop him?

He has the right of way

In he swoops as clever as eggs

And takes a sparrow from the nut pegs

Last summer their number was 30

Then the monster was amiss

Now it's down to ten and quickly getting less

I'll hang a fluffy toy cat high up in the tree

Maybe he'll go for that and leave the birds abee.

Elizabeth Sayers, Spennymoor

CAN'T SLEEP

When you can't sleep, don't count sheep

Talk to the shepherd, he'll give you peace

Say some words from the 23rd psalm

They will surely give you sweet balm.

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want

He makes me to lie down in green pastures

He leads me beside the still waters

He restores my soul."

Fix this picture in your mind.

Green pastures one side of you

Still waters at the other.

Your God close beside you.

No need for another.

If those words in your mind you keep

You can be quite sure

You'll soon be asleep.

Vera Jackson, Darlington

MEET ME ON THE OTHER SIDE

Yes, I'll be there waiting, when your time has come,

Yes, I'll be anticipating, and ready to even the score,

For the shocked look on your face, for the utter amazement,

Will almost be worth dying for!

Meet me on the other side, where my arms are open wide,

See me smiling once again, believe in angels - I'm one of them!

Lonely in heaven, would God understand,

the ache in my heart, do the dead feel pain?

Meet me on the other side, where I wander far and wide,

No-one knows sorrow better than you or I,

The agony of waiting and watching, you sigh,

It must be easier to leave than to be left behind to cry.

Maggie Clensey, Spennymoor

SEE YOU AGAIN?

Goalie swings at football,

Powerful, hoofed clearance.

Jump to block ball,

Which smashes against my left eye

From point blank range.

Unreal, excruciating pain.

Lying on ground, screaming in agony.

Don't think I can see.

Severe tingling sensation,

White spots dancing and spinning,

Throbbing headache,

Feelings of faintness and nausea.

Losing focus now,

Flashing lights and colours blending

Into a fuzzy mass.

Hope I can still see.

Stagger back on to feet,

Wander off homewards alone,

Light-headed, yet dazzled.

Frightened and beginning to panic,

Sight fading now;

Hazy, blurred, mist-shrouded images

Like looking through cling film.

Why can't I see?

Dash to A&E at North Tees.

Given eye test by duty doctor.

Referred to eye casualty

At James Cook Hospital.

Worryingly high pressure in left eye.

Succession of drops administered.

More sophisticated equipment available.

Please let me see.

Bleeding visible at front of eye;

Discoloured iris,

Enlarged, dilated pupil.

Yet more eye drops.

Left eye given thorough scan.

Too much blood around to determine

Whether retinal damage present.

Please, please let me see.

Complete bed rest prescribed.

No school, no reading,

No computer games.

Must keep head elevated.

Eye drops every two hours.

Allowed only to watch television.

Milky images clearing slowly.

Thank you for letting me see.

Headache lessening in intensity,

Sharper focus evident.

Allowed to return to school soon

But must not jump or leap around.

Have to avoid re-bleed.

These doctors are brilliant.

Thank you, doctors, thank you.

And thank God I can still see.

Tim Jasper, aged 13

Sedgefield

LOGIC

Machines take over from men,

Men and women made redundant.

Robots do the work of ten,

Lots of people take early retirement.

Today it's all work or study,

Over three million on the dole,

You are lucky you have your job, buddy,

Some can't afford a sack of coal.

Winter's weather, too cold for the old.

Gas and electric bills very costly,

If we had a mine of gold.

For the old age pensioners mostly

Government votes extra tax plus VAT

For some of the very ill people are VIPs.

Alfred Smirk, Darlington

SURELY?

You see a planet on the brink

Where Mankind's roamed, roughshod;

Then see a butterfly and think:

There has to be a God.

Ken Orton, Ferryhill Station