NYC

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.