I wrote this poem 20 years ago while watching coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show and wanted to covey how gardens have changed over the decades. Watching the show recently I thought I would post this poem while the show was being broadcast.

Illustrated with 'Summer's Garden' by Vivien 'Vivi' Steels

50 Year Plot

It is with shock and pain that we are viewing what is happening in Ukraine by the invasion of an independent country by Russia.  The people of the United Kingdom stand with the people of Ukraine.  I am posting this poem called Against Humanity, which I wrote in 1995 about WWII, but which is a very echo of what is happening today.  One man interviewed yesterday, who was ferrying people to the Polish border in his van, could hardly speak for tears as the events of the past eight ...

A report from the Royal Botanical Gardens from Kew has said an estimated 140,000, or 39.4%, of plants are under threat of disappearing. This is up 21% from 2016. There are also currently 723 medicinal plants facing extinction. Harebells, along with other Native species such as Chamomile, Juniper, Pennyroyal and wild asparagus are under threat.

Harebells are one of my and my mother's favourite flowers and I painted them for her under my maiden name , Gath, in 1985. It wou...

Muffy, Our New Rescue Cat

Muffy, our new rescue cat, came to us in August 2020. Still very sad about Teddy, I fostered a cat and after initial doubts, I said "Yes". But within a few minutes of being introduced to Muffy, an all black cat like my first cat, Miffy, I fell in love with her and her super-affectionate ways. She has a way of buffing you with her head and p...

'A little girl named Ferne goes on magical adventures with her best friend, Chocolate, her dark brown cat. The book contains five stories, one for each season of the year plus one for Christmas. On their travels Ferne and Chocolate meet some amazing characters – seagulls who sail a b...

It is National Poetry Day today and I was watching the news and the awfulness of the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, where young girls who were pregnant, or just classed as 'flirty' or 'attractive', were incarcerated in buildings where they worked as slave labour and treated harshly for what was perceived as their sins by the Catholic Church.  I wrote this poem in 2004, but wanted to include it here on this special poetry day and also because this has been exposed in the media.

Sea Friend

The sea, hissing sibilantly,

wanted me to come in and play,

wrapping its foamy fingers

round my rubber boots, tugging.

“I’m not coming in today. You’re freezing.”

The seals were happy,

lying like furry mermaids on stone sofas,

exposing tummies to be tickled.

The dog otter, sleek and stream-line,

ate his shell-enclosed lunch,

discar...

Love is...

Love is putting your best friend to sleep

to end his suffering,

knowing that your suffering

is only just beginning...

Anonymous

Beautiful Mittens Christmas 2015

Pets come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new p...

Alone ~

drenched in water jewels,

emerging from stream cleansed

to face sun, Giver of Fire, Giver of Life,

offering praise unspoken

to the Great Spirit breathing through

greenness of green,

blueness of blue,

rockness of rocks,

inspired to listen ~

all in abeyanc...

Soma

I unfurl vast rolls of black velvet

scattered with silvering stars

shooting across midnight skies.

Soft winds blow music from the spheres

into tired eyes and ears

restoring peace and calm.

Perfume of flowers mist

from clouds of dew,

falling onto quiet earth

while spume of dark rivers

press your hands with softness of foam.

Honey-sweet drips onto your lips

as you...