THE PASSING OF THE YEARS

THE PASSING OF THE YEARS

  

I’ve done some thinking lately

And it somehow frightens me,

Just how the years are passing

And the changes that I see.

My body tells me I am older

But in my mind I am still a girl

Taking on the world’s great problems

With a flourish and a swirl.

I still have a sense of justice

As I had once before,

It’s my body that is aging

In my mind I’m twenty four.

Marching in a protest

Standing for what I believe.

I did that again at fifty five

No changes I perceive.

Thirty years have passed

Since I first gave birth

To see my “baby” fully grown

The greatest joy on earth.

I have passed the baton on

To another daughter bold

Whose heart so wide and open

The whole world it could hold.

Brown spots upon my hands

Oh gosh - Oh deary me.

That only happens to older folk ~

But it is happening to me!

I still feel the same about things,

And still love and think and feel

All the things I always felt –

But there are wounds which will not heal.

I still feel the barb of great injustice

To the people of the world.

I still weep great tears of sorrow

As another grenade is hurled.

Once I would have stood outside Offices

And told them the thoughts in my head,

But arthritis in my feet now pains me

So I’ll email them instead.

  

It’s not a glamorous business

This growing older day by day,

But I try to do it with dignity

And watch the things I say.

Yes I am growing older

And I don’t like it very much. ~

It takes me about twice as long

To do only half as much.

I still weep at nature’s beauty

And friendships kindly ways,

The dewdrop on a summer rose

Crisp and misty autumn days.

Birthdays at thirty, forty, fifty

All came and went away.

I really am quite grateful

For each and every day.

So as I look in the mirror

And see the lines upon my face,

I try to recall the things I’ve done

And the memories I retrace.

I am glad I have these wrinkles

They are a map of the years,

They tell the story of my life

Of the laughter and the tears.

So growing old is a blessing

And thankful I will be

For all the friends who have supported

And travelled this road with me

©  Linda J. Vaughan

REMEMBERING YOU

REMEMBERING YOU 

Today I have been thinking

On this cold grey winter day,

I have a strong memory of you

Which will not go away.

It was a crisp and cold autumn morning

You took me to the train,

We parted with smiles and laughter ~

I never saw you again

At the Station Café we had hot chocolate,

You bought me a magazine.

So much has happened since that day

So much that might have been.

You ran beside the steam train

As it started upon its way.

I can still see the mist of that morning

I still remember the day.

You called out to me to enjoy myself

As I continued on my way,

You told me you would be home soon

I looked the other way.

You looked so well and healthy ~

How much our looks can deceive

I wanted so hard to accept it all

I wanted to believe.

You never came home at all ~

A phone call told me you were gone,

That my life was changed forever

And that I must carry on.

You took another journey

Your anguish and pain now done.

I said Goodbye at the Funeral Home

And carried on alone.

The family were all there to support me

And I felt their dreadful pain.

The mist began to gather ~

Cold winds and showers of rain.

The months moved on

And nos it's been ten years,

I wept so very often ~

Such salty bitter/sweet tears.

I only wept – I never let go ~

No bitter tears I shed

I held close to the memory

My thoughts within my head.

Your time had come, it was right for you

Your agony now spent.

I missed you then and I miss you now

I remember the day you went.

No time to say Goodbye ~

We were talking on the phone.

Such deep and dreadful silence

And you were taken Home.

I had promised to be there to the end

And to show you that I cared.

It seems quite right and it comforts me

That mine was the last voice you heard.

© Linda J. Vaughan


10 years 12th. July 

SWEETEST OF DAYS

THE SWEETEST OF DAYS

Bring me the sunset in a cup

And let it overflow.

Bring me the sweetest of days

That I will ever know.

Bring me love in your eyes

And kindness in your smile.

Let me feel you walk beside me

Every step of every mile.

Let me hear your laughter

And feel your tender touch.

Let me hear the words you say ~

That you love me very much.

Bring me the dewdrop from the rose,

Bring me the tears from your eyes.

Let me hold you closely

Under clear blue open skies.

Bring me a newborn baby

And place it in my arms.

Let me love and cherish it

And keep it safe from harm.

Bring me memories of days gone by

When love itself would grow

Bring me sunset in a cup

And let it overflow.

© Linda J. Vaughan    

March 24th. 2004

SIMPLE PLEASURES

SIMPLE PLEASURES

A friendly smile and a cheery wave,

Simple pleasure bringing joy,

Diamond stars in a night sky,

Flowers in the hand of a little boy.

Lying in a summer meadow

Watching clouds drift along.

Splashing through puddles 

Words from a song.

Sharing laughter with a friend,

Butter on home made bread.

Hot chocolate in winter,

A book to read in bed.

Sea spray on my glasses,

A smile upon your face.

Dewdrops on the roses,

A spider web of lace.

Daffodils dancing in springtime,

The smell of grass freshly mown,

Love letters tied with blue ribbon,

Flowers from the seeds I have sown.

Laughter from the children,

Games on cold wet days.

 A misty fog in winter,

A shimmering summer haze.

Relaxing in a fragrant bath,

Fluffy towels, warm and dry.

Walking in a winter rain

An umbrella to keep me dry.

The firelight glow at evening,

Lights on a Christmas tree.

A letter in my mailbox

A special cup of tea.

Photographs in silver frames

Memories set apart

Simple pleasures liver forever

In the recesses of my heart.

© Linda J. Vaughan

July 2006

THE QUIET MOMENTS

THE QUIET MOMENTS

It's in the quiet moments

That the heart can find release,

A little cheer, a little comfort

A gentle time of peace.

It's in the quiet moments

That memories are stirred.

The early and romantic days

When you realized you cared.

It's in the quiet moments

We reflect on childhood years,

The laughter and the sickness,

The tenderness and fears.

It's in the quiet moments

That we realize the years have flown,

Our days are changed and different

The children now have grown.

It's in the quiet moments

As we face the years ahead,

That we can claim our happiness

And not face the years with dread.

So claim the quiet moments

And let them comfort bring,

Sit quietly and listen

To the wisdom that they bring.

© Linda J. Vaughan

July 26th. 2008

FRIENDSHIP THOUGHTS

FRIENDSHIP THOUGHTS.

Talk to me of friendship

And special love and care

Tell me of the laughter

And the good times we can share.

Let me hear you whisper 

That you are here for me

That you will walk beside me

When the path I cannot see.

Sing to me of companionship

And the warmth that friendship brings

Let me walk beside you

Let our love take wings.

Comfort me when I am sad

And call me on the phone

Let me feel your very presence

So I know I'm not alone.,

Hear my many worries

And my feeble call

Let me know that you will be there

To lift me when I fall.

Please know that I value you

And all you say and do.,

How very much I cherish

Your special friendship true.

Listen to my secrets

And neither laugh nor scold

Promise me that we'll be together

When we are very old.

We'll watch the sun go down together

And remember our youthful days

We will cherish our special friendship

And the joy it brought to our days.

© Linda J. Vaughan

2008 March

SUMMER MEADOWS

SUMMER MEADOWS

I see you now in summer meadows

And watch the sun play on your hair,

I see you picking daisies

And threading them with care.

The gentle breezes blow your way

And butterflies are winging,

I hear your gentle laughter-

I hear you softly singing.

I see you by the river banks

Watching as it flows

I see you walking at the edges

And splashing with your toes.

You gather fruit from laden trees

You have no sense of time,

All summer days seem endless

And every day is fine.

I see you in a summer storm

At the end of a very hot day.

I see you in the rising moon

And the clouds that drift my way.

Your presence is always with me

Not only in summer’s hours,

I remember you in winter

On the days without the flowers.

I remember you in autumn,

In the red and golden leaves.

I remember you by the ocean

As it gently rolls and heaves.

I see you in the snowdrops

And the daffodils in spring,

I see you in the rainbow

And the birds upon the wing.

I see you in the dewdrops

On the roses that you grew.

I hear the echo of your voice

On the days I talked with you.

I think of you so often ~

And memory grows and grows

I walk the hills again with you

And I see you in summer meadows.

© Linda J. Vaughan

2011

LOVE'S AFTERGLOW

LOVE’S AFTERGLOW

You came to me so gently ~

Ran your fingers through my hair.

You held me close and whispered

How very much you care.

Your breath was warm upon me,

I could smell the sweet sweet wine

How very special was my joy

To know that you were mine.

You put your arms around me

And drew me closer still.

Your fingers feather soft upon me,

Weakening my will.

We lay in the velvet darkness

With candlelight subdued,

Soft music filled the room

How romantic was the mood.

My heart was full,  my eyes were wet

Such special words you said.

“Let me gather stars for you ~

A garland for your head.

The time was right ~ the mood, the place,

Our love at last complete.

There were stars in our eyes

And roses at our feet.

You loved me long and loved me well

And both of us took our pleasure

A time when the world stood still ~

Joy in fullest measure.

Passion spent we lay together

In love’s sweet afterglow

Relishing the memories we had made

The sweetest we could know.

My perfume lingered in the room

And on the pillow case

This had been a time set apart

A very special place.

You held me close and then we slept

As the night grew cold.

These memories will live with us

And warm us when we’re old.

© Linda J. Vaughan