Brenda Eyles

Chelston, Wellington, Somerset

Being born in 1926 and raised in the Devonshire farming community, I have always loved the countryside. My husband, Stanley, and I married in 1947. He is my constant companion, best friend, and business partner. We run a motor caravan business with our two sons, Rodney and Anthony, in Somerset and Banbury. We had three precious grandchildren, Tamsin, Alex and Forrest. In 1996 our lives were shattered when Alex, age 18 was killed in a car crash. I am a member of our local Women's Institute and International Society of Poets. My poetry is spontaneous, simple verse, easily read and understood.

Move With The Times

There were meadows to play in when I was a lass
With a gentle meandering stream
Where wild lillies grew
And forget-me-nots too
By a pond where the frogs used to spawn

But they've covered my meadow with concrete
The stream has been piped underground
No lillies abound
Where the tadpoles were found
There's a pub where the pond used to be.

There were woodlands to wander when I was a lass
With bluebells - a carpet of blue
Where a nightingale sang
When the Angelus rang
From the beech tree which I used to climb.

But they've plundered my wonderful woodland,
The bluebells they've buried below
A motorway rends
The valleys and glens
There's a bridge where the beech tree once stood.

And I'm sad when remembering my days as a lass
But we cannot live in the past.
So to hell with nostalgia!
March on to tomorrow
Greet every new day with a smile.

Life Goes On

All happiness must pay! Can this be really true?
We start the road of life as happy, chuckling babes
And life goes on...

As kids we work and play, and lark about.
We cultivate our skills - we choose our path.

The teenage years - we fall in love,
Oh joy of joys! We make our choice,
And life goes on...

A happy couple now create a family,
A home that's filled with laughter, joy and tears.
And life goes on....

Too soon they're grown, they've flown the nest.
A white haired couple sit and dream their sweet contented dreams
And life goes on....

But now the cruel blow! Such grief, such searing pain!
All happiness must pay? Ah yes, how well we know that now.
But --somehow-- life goes on.