Edna Hay-Helps

Leicester , UK

I was born on the 21.1.1911 in Leicester. My mother abandoned me when I was a few weeks old. I was brought up by a foster mother who was single living alone. We were very poor, always in fear of having to go into the Workhouse. When my foster mother became ill in her early sixties I was 17 years old, and I went to work full time and nursed her until she died when I was 22 years old. They were heard times. I am a widow now, and have no family, but I do have many good friends. I try to write poems that bring a message of hope and comfort to the reader.

Life
(A Reflection)

The minutes pass like hours today,
As doubts and fears cloud my way,
Today, tomorrow seems to be
An even greater uncertainty.

And yet the roses bloom the same,
Their petals falling in stormy rain,
Sweet perfume lingering in the sultry air,
And tomorrow's rosebuds already there.

The summer breeze blows through the trees,
Murmuring and whispering to the leaves,
If I can listen with inner peace,
I will hear the voice of nature speak.

But if I listen when Soul does speak,
I will hear the solace that I seek,
For in it's silent wordless call,
Is that sacred Being within us all.

The Joys of Life

Life as such unexpected joys as these,
The dappled sunshine through tall trees,
The drifting clouds across the sky,
Such lovely shapes as they pass by.

The babbling of a woodland stream,
And pink roses on a hedgerow green,
A skylarks song as he flies up high,
And patches of bluebells like a summers sky.

The sparkling cadence of a waterfall,
And scent of honey suckle on trellised walls,
A blackbird in a lilac bush,
And the evensong of a missal thrush.

The arch of a rainbow after rain,
And blissful ease after pain,
The hidden treasure in a tiny seed,
And the kindness in anothers deed.

The beautiful sunset at days end,
And welcome sound of the voice of a friend,
How wonderful when a we can say,
I found beauty, love and God today.