Sidmouth, Devon on a glorious day in September

On the horns of a dilemma

This is a reflection of my great interest in The Lost Expedition of Captain Franklin in the Arctic in 1845 when 132 officers and crew disappeared.~~~~~

The Erebus

Interrupted moonbeams
dance on icebergs
and trail their milk-white
fingers in icy sea
accompanying emerald
rhythms of the Borealis.

The blue-white stage
emits a ghostly hue,
evanescent and lambent
by turns. In the vast silence,
glaciers tower like cathedrals
in the midnight sky.

Aboard The Erebus,
an old salt, inured to the show;
stamps his feet,
breathes warmth
into his calloused hands
anticipating hot tea,
unwitting of his fate.

© Grace Galton 14th May 2006

Interlude
A ginger tom basking on a sun-kissed front lawn
slowly raises an eyelid – issues a yawn,
then stretches luxuriously arching his spine,
raising his tail in a pose purely feline.
A desultory lick at his marmalade chest
then he settles again for a well-deserved rest.

The house is deserted, it's people have flown,
the sun stole them all, and the cat is alone -
but for the canary; who opens his throat
to tune up by singing a perfect first note,
and then he performs such an exquisite trill –
that wild birds fall silent to honour his skill.
~~~
No breeze stirs the leaves of the delicate willow;
A small cloud drifts by like an eiderdown pillow.
The cat on the lawn is now dreamlessly sleeping,
the canary is dozing and wild birds are cheeping.
The grandfather clock in the house now holds sway,
and solemnly ticks off the remains of the day.

© Grace Galton 27^TH August 2006

Volcano by the sea on Lanzarote

I took this shot at Blenhiem Palace. I think the lady was a little tired !

Swan snapped at Chew Valley Lake

"Sticky Feet"

"Sticky Feet" is a magnificent Harris Hawk I fell in love with at the Exmoor Falconry.

MOONSHADOW AND MOUNTAINS

The sea between the Greek Island of Samos on the left and Turkey on the right.

Copyrith G Galton 2006

A Fallen Leaf

A FALLEN LEAF

Wearied by the nascent journey

through Spring’s garish lime and

tender green, and on to Summer’s

energetic dance of lemon yellow,

peach and golden brown; at last

triumphantly to reach the crown

of sweet perfection in a crimson gown.

All passion spent, she swoons,

swings delicately on a hinge,

arcs languidly toward the ground,

softly whispering her goodbyes

echoing the warm wind’s sighs.

There, lingering gracefully, she dies.

Her sacrifice is not unwonted;

All such as she - all russet beauties

with graciousness and sweet amore

will wave farewell to summer’s mirth,

then marry with the chocolate earth

to unify and nourish future birth.

© Grace Galton 17th September 2005

GOLDEN DAY

Down the corridors of my mind
you lead me through the labyrinth way.
‘Come, my love, and we will find
again, that treasured, golden day’.

So hand in hand we roam once more
through measured time to a precious year,
when standing on Sorrento’s shore -
the sea still shimmers crystal clear.
And once aboard the yacht we sight
amid the hazy hush of morn,
the shrouded cliffs now tipped with light
in the first rays of the dawn reborn.


So here we pause and time stands still,
the world about recedes to nought.
Encapsulated here we will
tryst yet again with a single thought.

For now the golden moments start,
that halcyon day by Capri’s side
which lingers ever in my heart,
will ever in my mind, abide.

(For my beloved husband, Ralph)