I glimpsed a Child. The Mind Cupboard.

                                                                            Cowslips
 

 

Dear reader,

The cowslip is a cousin of the primrose and is also an early spring flower. Formerly a common plant of traditional hay meadows, ancient woodlands and hedgerows and the loss of these habitats has caused a serious decline in its populations and now fields coloured bright yellow with its nodding heads is a rare sight.

Like many other spring flowers, the cowslip is closely associated with English folklore and tradition, including adorning garlands for May Day and being strewn on church paths for weddings.  The cowslip has many folk names due to its historical importance and fame.

The name cowslip actually means 'cow-slop' (i.e. cowpat) in reference to its choice of meadow habitat.  Native cowslips will grow in sunlight or semi-shade and are suitable for open woods, orchards and road verges.  They have a preference for chalk and limestone but will tolerate a wide range of other soils.  Cowslips produce a strong scent and will attract bees. 

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Dear Friends Everywhere, I am putting on for the third time the poem:  'The Mind Cupboard'.  Since I put it on the blog the first time I have had over 10,000 people 'liking' it so for those of you who didn't get to see it the first time, here it is again.

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From D.H, Lawrence   April 30th  1915 in Sussex

'There is a wagtail sitting on the gate-post.  I see how sweet and swift heaven is.  But hell is slow and creeping and viscous and insect-teeming; as is this Europe now, the England.'

 

From Dorothy Wordsworth  April 29th 1802 in Westmorland

'A beautiful morning- the sun shone and all was pleasant.....William lay, and I lay, in the trench under the fence - he with his eyes shut, and listening to the waterfalls and the birds.  There was no one waterfall above another - it was a sound of waters in the air - the voice of the air.  William heard me breathing and rustling now and then, but we both lay still, and unseen by one another; he thought that it would be as sweet thus to lie so in the grave; to hear the peaceful sounds of the earth, and just know that our dear friends were near.'

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I glimpsed a child

 

on the kitchen chair

feet dangling

legs swinging

 

large brown eyes stared

from a dusty pale face

 

she didn’t smile or speak

 

about seven years old I thought

Syrian perhaps or Iraqi

her clothes once pink and green

now mud stained and torn

 

her silver bracelets sparkling

in the sunlight

 

I made her Moroccan mint tea

offered her cake

kissed her cold cheek

dried her tears

 

I fetched more sugar

but on return I saw

the chair was empty

the child gone

dissolved in the morning air

                                                                  * 

 

The Mind Cupboard

 

My mind cupboard overflows

with unwanted debris.

It needs a spring clean.

 

I will brush away the cobwebs

of cheerless thoughts.

Scrub out the stains of childhood.

 

I will replace the brass hooks

corroded with salt tears,

empty all the screams

hoarded through the years.

 

I will replace the accumulated ashes

from the worn shelf-paper,

with virgin tissue.

 

I will chase and catch the wasps,

relieve them of their stings.

I will refill this cupboard

with love, and learnt, brighter things.

 

 

                                                                     *

 

With very best wishes, Patricia