HOPE

The daffodils are coming

Bursting into bloom

Little lambs appearing

Ousting winter’s gloom.

Catkins, soft and furry

Are hanging on the tree

The days are getting lighter

God’s beauty we can see.

Crocuses are opening wide

Lifting their faces to the sun

As if giving all the glory

To God, the holy one.

Elizabeth Tomlinson, Richmond

SADNESS

We walk the streets of Darlington

We see nothing but gloom

Numerous shops have closed down

It can only spell doom.

People have been made redundant

Unemployment is everywhere

This can only lead to poverty

The Government does not care.

In Queen Street alone

We’ve counted eight shops closed down

If you had a smile on your face

It is enough to make you frown.

How about our faithful Woolworths?

After 100 years, at Christmas it said goodbye,

Now it stands like an old monument

Still, empty and taciturn, day and night.

Emma Thomas, Darlington

WHAT WAS THAT?

Let’s take a trip on a submarine

Deep below the waves

Few men have been

Past jellyfish going with the tide

And large shoals of fish

Many metres wide

Down, down into the darkened depths

Where such strange creatures survive

Swiftly away from the eyes of man

Happy to be alive.

Let’s tell our people

We’re guarding them

Round the clock as they desire

With nuclear missiles on board to kill

The foe if we must fire

Then we can switch the sonar off

Knowing there’s no need to care

No chance of having an accident

For there’s no one else down there.

Albert Curle, Ferryhill

A NEW DAY

I opened my eyes this morning

I heard the birds sing

Pulled the bedroom curtains

And found the first day of spring.

Snow still on the branch

A cold chill in the air

Me, with one slipper on,

Cath Conlan, Sunderland