WAITING FOR YOU

WAITING FOR YOU

By Frances Harris

I sit here and I wait; and I wait,

Not knowing what to do,

There is no sight or sound of you,

I wonder, I worry, my thoughts race,

It wasn’t long ago that you were safe,

Laughing, joking, mingling and the like,

The light in your eyes shone so brightly,

But now, I don’t know,

The future is unclear, I have no say,

There is nothing I can do,

I can’t help you even though I want to,

All I know is to wait, I must wait,

You are too young to go through this,

Sudden, oh so sudden it was,

Unexpected, not wanted nor deserved,

One moment fine, the next moment, not;

My love for you is unwavering,

The light in my heart will not fade,

I am here for you always, you know that,

I am here – I love you.

THE TALES OF TONY RABBIT (Updated 17/5/2014)

THE TALES OF TONY RABBIT

By Frances Harris

Two king bunnies, J. and T.

Went walking, one fine day,

They were on a mission,

To see what they could see,

They saw a chance to benefit,

Looking for some loot,

The soil was moist and fertile,

Perfect for new growth,

Their heads turned left,

Their heads turned right,

Saw carrots in the soil,

Just likely for the taking,

They nodded in agreement:

Opportunity is rife,

Waiting for the moment,

Working on the foil,

The farmers’ at the market,

Buying bags of seed,

Bolstering their paltry lives,

An ambush in the making,

Eyes grew bright,whiskers twitched,

They were in agreement,

Too much food for keeping,

The treasury might need it,

The bunnies wrote a careful list,

Divided it by four,

They checked again to see it all,

The farmer, little more,

Both of them walked further,

Listing all the loot,

When Clive the angry bull dog,

- Chased them up the street.

THE POLITICIAN

THE POLITICIAN

By Frances Harris

T’was a nervous politician,

Standing there astride,

Leaning on the podium,

Trying not to cry,

He cleared his throat to tell us,

Our world is nearing end,

Everything that we once knew,

We cannot now defend,

The subject is of money,

And dollars we have few,

If we pass the buck to others,

Economies will fall,

I am a simple person,

I do not understand,

I can’t make head, nor tail of this,

I am at my wit’s end,

No one wants to own it,

Politicians run,

Whenever someone pins them down,

They give us only spin,

We have many ballots,

And nothing seems to change,

‘Henny Penny,’ tell me,

Is the sky now caving in?

DAISIES

By Frances Harris

Little faces white and yellow,

In my garden pale and weedy,

I forgot to pull you up,

From a pot so tossed about,

You sat there, your twiggy state,

Wizen, dry and not well formed,

I ignored you where you languished,

In my garden, I confess,

Am I such a thoughtless relic?

To deny that you belong,

In this place I call a refuge,

Near where birds and crickets sing,

Every being has its virtue,

Rarely noticed in the background,

No imagination needed

To appreciate you worth,

You remind me to do better,

I ignored you at your worst,

You burst out in splendid glory,

Even though I left you out.

AUTUMN

AUTUMN

By Frances Harris

Signs of autumn, trails of leaves,

Slowly fall from naked trees,

Slips of moss on shiny stones,

That’s what autumn means to me,

I have seen some autumns pass,

Never dull, with long grey grass,

Still blue skies and wispy clouds

Keep me entertained for hours,

In the distance cattle grazing,

Swollen bellies close to calving,

I look out for small white faces,

Hiding in the boundless cover,

Orange yellow, shades of movement,

Ducks and snipes no longer call us,

Winds that cool the gentle landscape,

Mountains changing, shades of purple,

Picnic baskets filled with goodies,

Bread rolls, cakes with lots of icing,

Even though my childhood’s past,

A fleeting thought, a happy glance..

THE UNSEEN

INVISIBLE

By Frances Harris

Nobody sees you walking these streets,

Pushing your trolley, hungry, disheveled,

You pass by the shops, and then turn to the right,

Looking for something; someone perhaps?

People around you, they all turn away,

On the side of the trolley, a story to tell,

A name and a message for people to see,

‘Thank you for tips,’ the first of them says,

‘My name is Irene,’

I can’t turn away,

Irene has been walking these streets for a while,

The dog that she’s carried is no longer here,

Where do you go when the light turns to dark?

Your innocence shows,

In a world of your own,

Your head is bowed low as you go near the crowd,

The dress that you wear is tattered and torn,

How do you cope when winter comes on?

A difficult life

For someone like you,

I don’t see you speak, when you amble this way,

Your eyes are quite red and tinged with despair,

It’s sadness I see, and a silent resolve,

You make it each day,

Another, to see,

As you walk I feel helpless, I can’t take the chance,

You might become frightened and show me your heels,

I summon the courage to call you by name,

You look at me blankly as if I’m not here,

A minute or two goes by then I see,

You turn to me slightly, while walking away,

A smile on your lips has lifted my day.



APPRECIATING THE EARTH

OUR EARTH

By Frances Harris



I’m flying in a space ship,

Looking far below,

The sky is black, the stars are bright,

I’ve been here quite a while,

I look to left, I look to right,

I see so many wonders,

There’s nothing much that can outdo,

The blue orb that’s down under,

It is my home, my refuge,

Blue and speckled skin,

Clouds, and sea and desert,

The lights flick off and on,

Like any traveller far from home

I think about its future,

Are we the ants that matter not?

Or do we bring salvation?

From this place so high above,

We don’t seem so important,

If we don’t care and love our home

We’ll disappear completely.

I can’t say when it all began,

And don’t know when it ends,

For sure we have an awesome gift,

To treasure, love and tend.