Partner in Rhyme

07/01/2025

23/09/2024

An ode to Friendship

Sharing,
Caring,
Daring to tell all,
Confiding,
Never hiding,
The feelings in your soul,
Emboldening,
Hand holding,
When things get tough,
By your side,
Through the roughest ride,
Knowing that’s enough,
The one that won’t hesitate,
To stick up for their ‘mate’
When other fail,
But will always say,
If they think another way,
Even if it’s to no avail,
Including,
At times, colluding,
To share a private joke,
You know each other so well,
There’s stuff you just wouldn’t tell,
To any other folk,
And when you’re apart,
They’ve always in your heart,
And you show you care,
By the messages you send,
That say you’ve got a friend,
And I’ll always be there.

23/08/2024

I’ve been loving being busy with commissions while floating around the UK’s waterways on a Narrowboat! Latterly I’ve had two pretty last minute Best Man’s speeches to do which is always fun!
Wedding speeches should be entertaining and amusing as well as heartfelt and doing it in rhyme gives an extra edge! I just ask my customers to throw down all their thoughts, feelings, anecdotes and details about the subject into an email and let me weave my magic! People get nervous about wedding speeches but weddings are about love and warmth so everyone will be supporting you! 😂

12/08/2024

The Art of Self Reflection

Time to think,
A moment of stillness,
To drink in the present,
And be fulfilled,
By what is here and now.
To understand yourself
Is to grow and flourish,
To unfurl,
By probing into that self,
That you think you know.
To embrace what makes you strong,
And acknowledge where you are weak,
To know where you belong,
With no need to seek more,
To freely admit to yourself
Those uncomfortable truths,
You’ve parked on a shelf,
Let go,
And soothe your soul,
Replace regret with compassion
For yourself,
Knowing you are better,
When you step out of the shade.
It takes courage to recognise
Your own imperfections,
With your own eyes,
To peer into the abyss,
And not step away
From the precipice,
And those that pass judgement,
Quickly and easily,
As you traverse life’s path,
Those that never wrestle,
With their own limitations,
Are just empty vessels,
Seeking out their own validation,
Let them go by,
And leave no trace.
The impact is fleeting.
Like the wind on your face.

17/07/2024

It is always enough,
When we gather,
In the early morning light,
It is enough to just be there,
Worries left behind closed doors,
Along with half drunk cups of tea,
Whether the sun is dancing on the water,
Or the pungent, damp green of rain,
Fills your senses,
It is enough.
The anticipation of immersion,
Feeds the soul,
As the coldness wraps itself around you,
You are as one with the river,
Its flow and swirl,
Living, breathing,
Moments of stillness,
Cool water holding you,
In its grasp,
Before continuing its journey,
And leaving you with the wisdom,
That you are enough.

30/05/2024

On Anger

12/04/2024

Be the Daffodil

When you’re surrounded by thorns,
Be the Daffodil,
When heads are bowed with horns,
Stand proud and still,
When there seems to be no way through,
Rise above,
When you don’t know what to do,
Choose love,
When darkness wants to suffocate,
Be the light,
Where there’s anger and hate,
Don’t use your energy to fight,
Your soft petals get battered by ill wind,
But the sun shines and always will,
Nothing has the strength to rescind,
The enduring presence of the Daffodil.

26/03/2024

Sometimes you are just inspired by lovely words that capture a feeling or move you, inspire you, evoke memories.
I’m currently immersed in a novel called Ahab’s Wife by I scurry off to bed at 9pm to become transported to a seafaring vessel called The Sussex as it navigates harsh seas and dwindling food supplies and I am living the life of ‘Una’, the protagonist, who has disguised herself as a boy and secured a position upon the vessel.
The words ‘People cross our lives casually when trumpets should blast’ leapt out of the page at me. It’s so true isn’t it? The friends you make, the lovers you take over the years can change the direction of your life forever. So I penned a few lines to capture that.

14/03/2024

There might not be a ‘later’……

13/03/2024

The Last Peach

05/03/2024

Cuckoo

She’s found her place to stay,
Feathers shaking,
Proudly,
Gentle tones of grey,
She doesn’t stand out,
Loudly,
But underneath her soft hues,
She keeps her bruises,
Concealed,
She feeds them daily,
While singing gaily,
Not wishing to be healed,
And her flock gather around,
Gaining ground,
As she sings her song,
And from her lofty perch,
For clarity, she doesn’t search,
For she can do no wrong.

02/03/2024

What is Love?

Love has very many guises,
Different shapes and different sizes,
Exploding to a wild crescendo,
Or a gentle, soft, quiet adagio,
A constant yearning,
Until your heart is burning,
Or just a sense of caring,
Of kinship and sharing,
Love is about thoughts that are kind,
Of carrying another being in your heart and mind,
Love is accepting that all of us are flawed,
Imperfections don’t stop us from being adored,
Love is support, love is trust,
Overcoming obstacles when we must,
Never assume that others know,
Love is only evident in what we do and show,
Love is not guaranteed to survive,
If it’s not fed and kept alive,
It’s not a right that is automatic,
It can be fleeting and is rarely static,
Love is fragile, it can be broken,
By anger, bitterness, words left unspoken,
Life’s ups and downs, bumps and curves,
Can be cushioned by the love that we deserve,
An incredible thing that we should treasure,
To be loved has a value impossible to measure,
And maybe when we realise,
When we take the blinkers off, open our eyes,
That the opportunity to love is precious and short,
Time chases us until we are caught,
And when it does, you’ll want to feel glad,
That you’ve shown love and loved the love you’ve had.
❤

Photo credit: Freepiks

18/02/2024

Don’t you just hate
Bad grammar?
It just irritates,
Those of us,
Who admit,
We are pedants,
For the correct use,
And despise abuse,
Of language,
In any shape or form,
But it’s sadly the norm…
‘Your welcome!…..’

05/02/2024

The Sea of Life

Our souls are ships,
Navigating the sea of life,
Its ups and downs,
Its peaks and troughs,
Sometimes crashing,
Sometimes cruising,
Sometimes coming to a halt,
The Doldrums.

Our worries are the barnacles.
That cling to our hull,
Regrets, anger, resentment,
Gathered by our soul,
Onwards we plough,
Through the fog on our bow,
Our cargo weighing heavy,
Slowing our passage.

But there is a clear horizon,
Straight ahead,
You are the master of your mind,
Only you can find,
The strength to steer,
Away from the eye of the storm,
To calmer waters,
Still skies. Still mind.

Time to embrace,
The ebb and flow of being,
Not fight against the tide,
But to ride the waves,
Accept the ride,
To know that when you plummet,
From the crest,
That you will rise again,
That you will find the best version of you,
Take the helm,
Sail on.

27/12/2023

Ode to the Brussels Sprout

Oh my little green Brussels sprout,
To me, you’re what Christmas is all about,
You can keep your Panto with Widow Twanky,
You can stuff your Turkey - that’s too Yankee,
Not bothered about the red suited, bearded man,
Just throw some lovely Brussels in a pan,
With olive oil and garlic too,
Chestnuts, pancetta - that’ll do!
Oh little brassica much maligned,
I feel like every star has aligned,
When a pile of sprouts are on my plate,
Just why are subjected to so much hate?
If left too hard or boiled to mush,
Then obviously you won’t taste too lush,
But sautéd gently to perfection,
And I just can’t understand any objection,
For the humble sprout is an absolute winner,
The consummate star of the Christmas dinner.