Day In The Sun Poem by John Rickell

Day In The Sun



Llanrwst on a sunny day,
beside the Conwy river, diamond fresh,
pebble strewn and bubbling,
a dog’s delight chasing swans,
swim and drink your fill.
Shirt sleeve weather
muddy paths from Monday's rain,
walking shoes not sandals.
The drive across the hills to me was new,
hawthorns late, with pale green leaves
the ‘bread- and-cheese’ of child-hood,
eaten on the way to school.
Woolly sheep in hundreds, not a cow in sight,
do not mention mint, that would be unkind,
mustard if you must!

I drove for miles, long secret lanes,
hamlets passed me by, names all consonants
Double ‘Ls’....... few vowels!
Where I was, I knew not,
but was not lost,
did not know where I was going!
Nor care......
I'd left behind a friend to study for her work,
Had five hours to spend on myself,
climbed the nearest hill turning
my back on caravans, sandy shore and sea.
Llanrwst again, (let’s not forget) .
Found the church, oak door not locked.....
Just push. .....

Gentle streets behind, silence in the nave.
a quiet day, a holy day.
the only one to sit in the dark oak pews,
smell of bees-wax candles,
organ keys smiling black and white.
Major, minor, melodies and vaulted roof.
Beneath the tower pretty pulls hang limp,
the bells heavy, silent waiting call to prayer,
Twenty, so I'm told, on Sunday.

A lady came to talk to me, Desiderata on the shelf,
Made a copy for me, wished me ‘Nice day’.....
Went to shop in town, left me silent once again.
Whispers from the past, echoes drift round the beams,
Jacobean black and lime-wash white.
Chancel arch from fifteen hundred.
Beckoned..’Climb the steps’ but I stayed to think.
Wished I could believe.......
Listened to the ponderous tock, of the tower clock,
Tick out its pendulous measure.
‘Oh, Lord support us all the
day- long of this troublous life’
Rose like incense smoke, as I took rest.

I had to go, an hour left, just enough,
Must not be late, took a shorter route
Along a white lined road, rushing east,
between two statue limits.
Order now, no sheep or soaring kestrel.
primrose, daffodil and hawthorn nowhere to be seen,
Caravans and sand, police and traffic lights.

We met ‘How did it go? ’
Shared pleasure and the day's frustrations
coffee, chat, a walk to stretch class-room limbs
and blow away the cobwebs.
Gave her the keys, switched on the music
To drown the traffic noise...
no birds to sooth the brow.
No smell of bees-wax candles
.
.

POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
Just a simple day out told as simply as possible the ordinary of life
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
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