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Harmony in the world,
Is a new shattered dream;
Once it seemed so well,
But now, how can it be?
A world crushed by hate,
People lost in pain,
How can we recover
And become as one again?
To those who shook innocence,
And stole childhood of time,
To them who cower always,
May they pay for their crime.
Have their whole world broken,
And their loved ones disappear,
'Cause in all this mass of chaos,
They must also live in fear.
On September 11,
The day our world forever changed,
We must now all grow stronger
And leave our hate in the remains.
Together we are One,
United we shall stand.
Rid the world of evil,
And become the Freedom Land.
Holly Jefferson, Ponteland.
Pensioner to Chancellor
The Labour Government is on its way out,
Its treatment of pensioners makes that no doubt.
Giving handouts to the few is the wrong way,
Equal treatment to all if he wants to stay.
Pensioners' numbers and powers increase every year,
And at every future poll will have a bigger say.
The PM forecast of two-and-a-half per cent
Says to us pensioners, it's time he went.
A good basic pension would be more fair,
Then every pensioner would get a fair share
For we are the ones that did our bit and more,
To keep the enemy from our shore.
The basic pension we receive is an insult to all,
And two-and-a-half per cent is ten times too small.
So on budget day be wise and strong,
It's never too late to right a wrong.
Men are given thousands for playing football,
Are we due so little for giving our all?
So put things right and give us our due,
For in your next budget we're relying on you.
No more handouts, give us our fair due,
Make our future brighter, it's up to you.
Put the past behind you and put things right,
By realising the extent of the pensioners' plight.
E Askew, Kirk Merrington.
Where Have All The Years Gone?
Since I was young and fair,
Now, I'm a senior citizen
Dozing in my chair.
From this old body sprang to life
Six children, tall and smart.
I tended them thro' childhood days
With my man, who had my heart,
Now, they all have left us,
With partners of their own.
But life goes on, still is sweet,
So why should we moan.
Our love has stood the stormy weather
And in spirit we are still together.
I see little children playing in the sun
Not a care in the world have they.
I thank the dear Lord, I was a child,
And enjoyed life every day.
To have given birth to a little child,
A miracle of its own.
To have lived and loved and sighed
And God's love to have known.
So what is life, joy, grief and pain
Love in all its glory.
Loving, caring, sharing,
That's life's lovely story.
Gladys Tidbury, Pity Me, Durham.
Tara At Church
One evening when passing a church
And tired from a day on the run,
I thought I could do with a nap
And went in with the service begun.
Now humans are often religious
And I am glad of this for their sake.
But I think that it maybe connected
With spending too much time awake.
I positioned myself near a window
and listened 'til totally bored.
So with the drone and the sunshine
'Twas not very long 'til I snored.
Their reaction was out of proportion
And totally lacking in style.
They rose up with a vicious resentment
And chased me the length of the aisle.
It wasn't the sound of the snoring
It seems they're familiar with that.
But a most prejudicial objection
To the fact that it came from a cat.
With regard to liturgical action
Which I now realise requires fitness.
I don't feel at all that I'm called
In a meaningful way to bear witness.
Why but then let the record recall
That in one vibrant moment of bliss,
A cat led a whole congregation
Re-enacting the 'nunc dimittis'.
Colman Marius Ryan, Thirsk.
In Fill
They're digging holes in Heather Glen,
Bracken, grass and broom have gone.
The beck is stopped -
As is the fun.
The reek of diesel cleaves the air,
Hydraulic noises everywhere.
No more the trout -
No more the hare.
Now empty sardine cans abound,
Old televisions fill the ground.
With seep and rust -
Man-made disgust.
But from the ash, the Phoenix rises,
Saplings soar above the rot.
The lark ascends the skies;
The sun is new. The sun is hot.
Alan Little, Whickham.
Farewell My Friend
The winds of time no longer cool your brow.
To you, for whom the sun will no more set
We say our final fond farewell for now;
Dear friend, whom we as one will not forget.
For those loved ones you leave behind, we pray
They have the strength, and will, to carry on
Through the ever-present burden of each day;
Reluctant to accept that you have gone.
We do not hide our grief, we are not able;
We bear our sorrow knowing that we must.
Yet shall we meet again at Heaven's table,
With the Lord, in whom we put our faith and trust.
Though you may leave us for eternal sleep;
Freed from earthly suffering and pain.
We ask the Lord your soul in safety keep;
That you may join your loved ones once again.
LP Brighton, Darlington.
On Upon
Once upon a time, in a once upon a place,
Lived a once upon a child with a once upon a face.
She grew into a once upon a woman,
With a once upon a sadness,
This led to a lot of once upon
And a once upon a madness.
Her once upon trusted no one
And her demons fed her nightly,
Her once upon a brightness
No longer shone there brightly.
Her once upon a friends
Tried to cheer her once upon a time,
But she'd once upon again,
Mistrusted the one once that was mine.
Jim Nunn, Carrville, Durham.
Thoughts of Spring
The warm and sunny days, no doubt
Are still a little way off,
There may be snow, high winds may blow,
I splutter, sneeze and cough.
Some people like wild and windy days
But those for which I sigh
Are the calm and sunny gentle days
That lift my spirits high.
The smallest hint of joys to come
Can make a sad heart sing,
The snowdrops are beginning to peep
Soon will the winter turn to spring.
Wilf Harris, Fishburn.
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