A Cup Of Tea
When life is an uphill struggle
And people treat you rather uppity
How nice it is to sit, relax
Put on the kettle and have a cup of tea.
A cup of tea will balm your nerves
It also serves to pick you up
And if you've time what better than
To maybe sup another cup.
It is a tonic most harmonic -
Darjeeling, lemon and Earl Grey
And what of all this caffeine in it
I don't care what the scientists say.
A cup of tea is the nectar
Of royalty and housewives
It starts the day off very well
And puts the sunshine in our lives.
Whatever is your brand
Tetley, PG Tips, Typhoo
Inviting friends for a chat over tea
Is the social thing to do.
So next time you put the kettle on
When you've nothing else to do
Invite me round, put up your feet
And we'll share a tasty brew.
Linda French, Hartlepool.
Autumn
Now that autumn is on the way
The children make the most of play.
Leaves are falling off the trees,
Fluttering around in the breeze.
The leaves are so enchanting
As they fall down, dancing,
Every colour lying around,
Making a carpet on the ground.
Then it's winter and the north wind blows
Then like fairy petals comes the snow
To make faces all aglow.
Frozen hands and runny noses,
All waiting for the summer roses.
Then the daffodils start to spring,
And the birds begin to sing.
It's time for laughter and good cheer
Now we know that summer is near.
Sarah Denham, Newton Aycliffe.
Life
I know the life that surrounds me
Is full of happiness and pain.
Some say life is to be enjoyed
But others just look in vain.
Life is a short, short thing -
I'm not sure what it's all about.
Some say childhood is the best part of your life
But I think it's what you do in between that counts.
On the time I've spent alive,
Which right now is not very long.
I know some people put on a brave face,
But not all can be as strong.
The pain you can still see
You just have to look in people's eyes
To see why they are really hurting
Whether it was the truth being told or lies.
We've been brought up to trust machines
And I think that's very sad
Not to be able to trust a human being properly
To have a doubt whether they are good or bad.
So to end this poem with a question
Probably the biggest one we can ask,
What is the meaning of life?
And what is man's greatest task?
Rebecca Gaffney, aged 13, Bishop Auckland.
Contentment
If I could live my life again
Not one single thing I'd change.
No manor born with a silver spoon
With wealth and power or fame,
Blackbirds will sing, as they sang long ago,
Perfumed heather fills the air.
Never ending trek each day at dawn,
Building walls in the wilds of nowhere.
Eddie Rowney, Stokesley.
Monarch of the Glen
Shafts of sunlight streaming through
A canopy of autumn leaves
Striking on the ground below
A dappled pattern weaves.
Standing quietly in the shadows
Of this wild and lonely glen
A stag poised like a statue
Alert for stalking men.
Majestic'ly stepping into view
King of all that he surveys
His red coat soft and silken
Gleaming in the sunlight's rays.
There he stands, this glorious stag
His antlers a giant spread
Scorning every other deer
With a toss of his noble head.
As autumn leaves begin to fall
Strewn on the forest floor
We hear the awesome challenge
Of the stag's defiant roar.
A fearsome clash of heads rings out
As he charged to defend his right
Fencing with their antlers
Bellowing with all their might.
Amid a cloud of swirling dust
His defeated rival takes flight
Followed by a triumphal roar
From the victor of this fight.
The herd of deer calmly grazes on
Knee-deep among the bracken
Safe beneath the ever watchful eye
Of their proud Monarch of the Glen.
GW Skaife, Saltburn.
A Hard Day's Knight
Wagon drivers are the knights of the roads
Driving the motorways with their heavy loads.
Away from home for days on end
The radio sometimes their only friend.
Eating up the miles, we see them go
Traffic jams and roadworks, their biggest foe.
This is the tale of one such driver
A real hard worker, not a skiver.
A knight of the road, my friend Dennis
(Not the one who is a menace).
He works so hard, bills to pay
So down the road he makes his way.
One day his wife, Anne, got the dreaded call
The one she feared most of all.
There really wasn't much time to talk
Dennis was in hospital, down at York.
The knight of the road was bruised and battered,
The bones in his leg, broken and shattered.
So off she went, feeling quite sorry
He'd fallen from the back of his very own lorry.
Now, things fall from the backs of lorries each day,
But rarely the driver, I'm pleased to say.
I send my good wishes to him in a letter
And hope that soon he feels much better.
Valerie Patterson, Brandon.
Without? - I Doubt!
I came within with a hat.
I won't go out without!
Somewhere within, I hung the hat
That I would wear without.
It is not done to wear within;
So, within I am without.
Mayhap a sin to wear within,
'Tis a pleasure when without.
I need the hat I came within with,
For I need to be without.
But I can't find my hat within;
So now I am without.
Someone came within without,
And took my hat without.
And so that hat I came within with;
I cannot wear without.
If within is without my hat.
And I can't leave without;
Then I will find a hat within
That I can wear without.
Someone else within within,
Will go without without.
I had a hat when I came in;
I can't go out without.
L P Brighton, Darlington.
The New Season
This year
For footgear
Lace-ups, loafers
boots and the brogue
Have calmly
catwalked into vogue
Those who design
Declare it's fine
To be sensibly shod
and neater
To shed stilletos and
not to teeter!
Aruna Joss, Mickleton, Barnard Castle.
I Dreamed The Cruel Sea
I watched it from the cliff top
It was cold, dark and grey
The wind was strong, the waves were high
As they rolled across the bay.
Ships were sheltering from the storm
Their anchors strained and taut
They had sailed from across the sea
Into this tempestuous port.
Ships were clashed against the wharf
Unable to set sail
Captains, crews were helpless
In this force ten gale.
Then as the dawn began to break
There was a calmness in the air
The scene below was tragic
Some boats beyond repair.
The sea was still, there was no wind
I saw the great sun rise
It rose up from the tranquil sea
Into a blue and cloudless sky.
I know not how I got there
As I woke up with a fright
It must have been a dream you see
I was asleep that night.
Eric Anderton, Peterlee.
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