James Barnes

Southend On Sea, Essex, UK

I was born 25 February 1935 in Halifax, West Yorkshire. My wife's name is MarJorie and we married in 1956. I have three sons, David, Keith, and Mark and three daughters Patricia, Sharon and Michelle. I now reside for the past 12 years in Southend on Sea, Essex where I am self-employed I have three granddaughters and five grandsons whom I love dearly. I am now a member of The International Society of Poets. A statement from the heart is more than you could dream. A statement from your heart can make your life supreme.

A Strangers Plea

o tremulous voice, thy sound I hear,
Thy plaintiff wail, with quivering tone
On Barren ground it ne'er will fall
What mortal soul will heed thy call!
Or turn thee down when broods not well
For who knowest when my own time must dwell?
For want of a strangers kind answer to my own plea!
So I heed thee well, and offer thee
My time my thoughts, my deeds.
That when I myself cry out for help
Some one, may come and notice me!
And stepping forth as I myself would do
Offer solace, and compassion, as I would rend to thee.
Thy wail they cry, mine ear it does percieve
To ignore this plea to render thee
I know would be a sin
So I bid thee stranger enter in
into my kind and warm embrace
So I may help one lost lonely soul
Find solace and a haven from human hate
So we can give hope and tranquility of soul
For all the human race!

Growing Old

I remember not from whence I came
for it seems so long ago
My mind and body was so agile
now they begin to slow
The daily tasks I once performed
now take a longer time
My mind it is still willing,
but my body draws a line
I sit here thinking
when I was just a boy
how I used to run and skip
And shout out
with exuberance and joy
But these times are now in the past
so very long ago
My heart is full of sadness,
I am feeling very low
It leaves me with a feeling that life
has passed me by
Gone are my years of youth
as time begins to fly
Tomorrow I will be "twenty"
Goodbye to teenage days
I think I will become a hermit
And learn to change my ways!