Sunday 25 September 2016

Resolution





Dear Reader,

Of late I have been thinking about fantasy and reality and how it plays a part in our lives, and in some lives more than others.  A.N. Wilson, writing about Beryl Bainbridge in The Spectator magazine, said that her life was a borderline between fact and fiction.  Apparently she was incapable of having experiences without shaping or changing them into some sort of fantasy.  Perhaps we all do this to some extent.  It made me think of the Archers again.  Large parts of the country have been mesmerized by the story of Helen and Rob and the subsequent court case, because Helen stabbed Rob out of fright, fearing for the life of her son, Henry.  I think over five million people have listened to this story in awe and anguish, all knowing that Ambridge and the Archers do not exist.  But somehow they exist for me and I presume for them too.  But what upset me this week and made me think how strange we human beings are, was the fact that there is going to be another animal in the new Winnie-the-Pooh stories.  There is going to be a penguin.  I particularly love the Hundred Acre Wood where Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore live and I do not like the idea of sharing this magic place with a penguin.  I really do like penguins, I just don't want one in the Hundred Acre Wood. 

                                                                          *
Resolution

I need to breathe salt sea air,
run down the shell-strewn beach,
let the sharp east wind blow through my hair,
run for the horizon away out of reach.

I need the sound of the seagull's cry,
the music of waves rolling on sand
to help with questions of whether and why
I should change my direction, and stand

up for what I believe in.
I need the strength I know I will find
on that quiet sunfilled beach,
to be resolute, make up my mind.

Enveloped in peace, silence and sea
I will whisper to the listening wind,
"I have made the decision, watch over me,
I'm taking the path I've determined".

                                                                      *

Very best wishes, Patricia


1 comment:

  1. Lovely poem, I love the sea and the beach too. There is something that feels so natural about it.
    Well, all the characters in the Hundred Acre Wood are quite quirky - maybe the new addition will be just as lovable!

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