A child standing atop a dolmen

Between the Fires: verses of earth and moon

poems by Zephyra

Nature

  • Spring walk

    I can smell the leaves perspiring And see the flowers blooming The hedgerows bright and brilliant pink The estuary shines a deep blue ink Smells of gorse and garlic fill the air Yellow flowers everywhere Buttercup Dandelion Primrose too All a different yellow hue The babbling brook rushes along Singing it’s tinkly twinkly song  Children’s… Read more

  • Haikus

    End Feb Awake and alive I wallow in my cold plunge The joy of birdsong Sauna heats my bones Shimmering sun on the sea Face smile fixed on me Frost on the roof tops New moon rise on sunny hills Cold water holds me  March Bright sunshine crisp frost A whole new world of colours … Read more

  • The beech hedge

    We’ve a new house with an old hedge Slow to leaf and slow to fall So its’ curled and russet leaves Provide a home for one and all A female blackcap moved in for the winter solstice A mild December day And she stayed and stayed I named her Esmerelda after the play She patrols… Read more

  • November

    November skies are dull and grey Oh cast me back to the month of May When flowers bloomed and songbirds sang And joyful laughing in playgrounds rang Where skies were blue and mornings bright Where clouds were dappled in evening light Where crops were shooting, bursting high Where summers fun was getting nigh This month… Read more

  • Hirundines

    That window of time We are lucky to find A hillside sparkling with Hirundine Darting and diving Brushing and gliding Sweeping and swooping Down below  Twisting and turning  Chatting and snacking Agile and speeding  Down below  Like a figure of 8 My gaze is turning Watching and wondering At them flying below And once in… Read more

  • World bird migration day

    Sitting waiting watching being Birds migrating, people seeing Hazy warming thermals rising Eagles soaring, swallows feasting  Crossing the Straits and leaving Spain Seeking sun, avoiding rain Spring before they’re seen here again What a treat to watch the world go by And witness these birds as home they fly Read more

  • Fly high

    Soar like an eagle High in the sky Go girl fly Riding the thermals high above ground She leaves over sea  Then turns around Africa looking too far away She’s not going for it today Another lizard one more night Tomorrow she’ll try another flight  May a fair wind speed you and hold you high… Read more

  • Autumn

    What a change this season brings From greens and blues  to orange hues And brown and gold and yellow too The leaves they fall and fly and glide They rest in piles where critters hide And some hold longer to their trees Rustling in the autumn breeze That last hold on to summer past And… Read more

  • Osprey alert

    Down on the river Adur As the estuary meets the sea I saw an osprey fishing Catching mullet for its tea He swirled up high above us Circling graceful in the sky As if to say “why look at me A good fisherman am I” A mid air shake confused us And stunned that helpless… Read more

  • Discovery

    Teasel Witch Hazel Blackthorn and Sloe  Chicory Hemlock and Dock Walking the lanes with the townies in flip-flops  The nature they nearly forgot  Read more

  • September in Sussex

    Let me lend you a day in Sussex Where bright in the morning  sun  A soft early frost soon melted down The sign of autumn to come  Swallows dart and dive low over fields The sky the brightest of blue  Paragliders  motionless above  Sporting  bright colours in view Joy surrounds the Downs and the coast… Read more

  • Tree

    I can feel the trees energy  reach up from the Earth into me I wrap my arms around her tight Hold her strong trunk with all my might And bond with her as in I breathe As raindrops fall upon her leaves  And feel within my mighty fire Fuelled by the strength of my desire… Read more

  • Wheatear on a wall

    Wandering wondering whether to go From which way does the wind blow Shall I wait until tomorrow? Or pose on this wall for a day or too Gaining my strength for the journey to do How I will get there, nobody knows I’m drawn to the power of the planet below For she knows And… Read more

  • Lucky escape

    4 noisy goldfinch twittering on the wall Suddenly they flew away not twittering at all I heard a noisy swoop from below the wall And a speedy hawk came in to view Her breakfast plans they had just flew Phew! Read more

  • Summer Solstice

    Strong is the sun And it’s life giving power The earth is awash For here is the hour Sing as the day breaks Party with friends Dance as the sun sets As this joyous day ends Celebrate loudly Abandon your sorrow Don’t welcome the dark Let that be the morrow Read more

  • Wending my way

    As the gorse exfoliates my legs And the stonechat chatter overhead I wade my way through heather moor Looking for the cliff top door The path has gone beneath my feet The undergrowth gets thick and deep Not one has tread this path before Then suddenly I spy the door A little gate, an unused… Read more

  • Abercastle

    Pretty pink hillside Lined with foxgloves Bumbles Hide Inside Noisy Brown Skylark In hedgerows beside They whistle tweet and rattle While Goldfinch twitter and Linnet crackle Butterflies blue The old moth two The sea a glistening blue All from my cliff top view Read more

  • Gower

    Stonechat perching on a bramble edge Swallows swooping all around Kestrel hunting on the clifftop ledge Goldfinch fledglings on the ground Willow warbler singing from a messy hedge Like a bagpipe running out of sound Nature sings so tunefully And all of this to share with me Read more

  • Swim

    Just me and the lifeguards on the beach today I’m outnumbered by 2 to 1 The water is calm as a mill pond And the sand being warmed by the sun Once in a while a wave laps the shore And I swim surrounded by dunes As I lie on my back enjoying the cold… Read more

  • Swallows

    Showing speed Sharing space Streamers Pace Grace Catching flies On the stream Between The woods And the beach They streak past With style I’ll pause and watch a while Read more