Forget Us Not

Forget Us Not

The sky dark and fiery

A solemn crowd stood round the cenotaph

The old, the young and in between

Old men and women in wheelchairs

Pushed by the young

All bundled against the bitter wind

Remembering days of old

Stories told by family

Throughout the years

Of great-grandfather, great-grandmother, great aunts and uncles

Grandmothers and grandfather, aunts and uncles
Those newly indoctrinated into the club
Of wounded and dead veterans

Ceremony took place

Heads were bowed

Prayers were said

As heads were raised

The heavenly sight was seen

The clouds lifted

The winds stilled

Light trickled down

A single ray of light

Shone round

In all heads a voice was heard

We sacrificed our futures and lives for you

Forget us not

The bells pealed out

A hundred times

Forget us not!!

©Sheilagh Lee  November 8 2018

A different story

Go for a boat ride

He said

The ocean’s calm

No sharks are near

We paddle bravely

Then I see

A whale

Bigger than the sea

It’s a trick of the light

My friend says

An illusion

We’re safe

He insists

I know this whale is huge

He can tip us into the sea

And devour us

For my friend’s name

Is Jonah

You see

And in the tale

The whale tells is a different one

Then you and me

©Sheilagh Lee  March 16, 2018

Giving Thanks

As the sun sets

On the day

We gave thanks

For our blessings

Give prayers

Hoping that tomorrow

Will be a better day

Offer help to those who need

Say prayers for others

For only through community

And love of our fellow man

Do we truly prosper

©Sheilagh Lee  August 27, 2018

Daisies

Sweet Harvest

 In a forest of feelings

We now know

What is good and evil

Because we ate of the apple

Why do we feel?

Such shame and such guilt?

We’re not evil

We just enjoy the fruit

Sweet harvest

Fragrant tasty fruit treats

Apples by the barrel

Cider, apple pie,

Apple crumble, apple crisp

Caramel apples and crisp apples

So yummy

Sweet treats soon to be created

And consumed

For that we give thanks.

©Sheilagh Lee  July 30 2018

Freedom

Freedom an overused word

Often mistaken

For something different

What is free?

You  ask

Freedom are words

I am able to speak

Without retribution

Protests I can make

To right wrongs

The right to be me
Journalists that ask questions
And get answers

Even a holiday

To a seashore

Or pleasant place

From work and strife

All are freedoms

I value

In a liberated society

©Sheilagh Lee  July 27 2018

Happy Father's Day dad

©Sheilagh Lee June 17, 2018

Remembering D-Day 74 Years Later

Remembering D-Day 74 Years Later

Men some young, some old

Some in between

Scared, shaking in their skins

They find the inner courage

The stamina and the bravery

To go to war    

On distance shore

They battle waves

The wicked weather

To face tanks, big guns and men

Trying to take land

To end the war

To save their families

For tyranny and strife

To find peace

Who gave their all

So we could end the war

To have peace again

And enjoy the fruits of life

So on this day 73 years later

We remember their sacrifice

And every day

For their love of country

And home they forfeited

Peace of mind, fear and life

Some gave their lives

Others their peace of mind

There are now words to thank them

We shall never forget  their sacrifice

And remember them forever

American, British and Canadian

 


  One and all remembered           forevermore
©Sheilagh Lee June 6, 2018

My friend

For Rose whom I dearly miss.

Six years, how can it be?

I know you are safe in heaven above

But my friend I miss you

I look up at that blue sky

Remembering all the good times we had

Singing in choir

Taking about our hope our dreams

Talking love and future

Speaking of our families

Our children

The love we have for them

The love that even death cannot divide

For I’m sure you are with them

I look up at that blue sky

And I think how appropriate

That you send love our way

I hold you close in my heart

And in my memories you live forever

©Sheilagh Lee May 30, 2018

Summer in the City

Summer in the City

Searing invisible flames

Sizzle, dancing and whistling

Through the air

Heavy and oppressing

The sun beats down

Sucks up all moisture

The once fragrant lilacs

Wilt along with the humans

Which dare to wander

In the city to work

Or to play

On this steaming hot day

 ©Sheilagh Lee May 29, 2018

Beloved sister

Grace

Your laugh made me smile

Your kind heart

Reached out to all

To encompass them in your life

You were lively and fun

We were proud to have you as a friend

Even happier to call you family

We will miss you Grace

Rest in peace

                                         Beloved sister
                                                     ©Sheilagh Lee May 12, 2018

Not A Robot

Is a picture worth a thousand words?

They say a picture

Is worth a thousand words

But I find the words

Make the picture

A few chosen words

Descriptive and meaningful

Can paint a picture

Of beauty, anguish, or joy

Many situations to see

For words are pictures

A author's paint brush

It's creation to behold

In the Mind's eye

                                                                                               ©Sheilagh Lee March 14, 2018

Tuesday writings~Mine to win

Prompts: underneath, victory, struggles

Mine to Win

Sometimes I wonder why

Others can’t see

The me I see

This hidden illness

That presents to most

As if I were

Like everyone else

I wish I was

But underneath this smile

This tender heart

If you look closely at my eyes

You’d see the struggles

That I have

How much pain

I don’t share

How dead tired I am

Because I try hard to see

The good and not the bad

Ignore the disease

That holds me captive

So I can beat it

In my own way

But from time to time

I forget to fight

Let darkness triumph

Then I look

In the mirror to see

Death warmed over

I purse my lips

And smile

For I won’t let fibromyalgia

Or my autoimmune condition succeed

My life is my own

To be happy or sad

I choose to smile

This victory is mine to win

                                                                                                                ©Sheilagh Lee February 19, 2018

Tuesday Writings - Two Hearts That Beat As One

Happy Valentine’s Day to my husband

Two Hearts That Beat As One

On a cold February night

Fair heart was won

A man gallant

Charming and sweet

Could have had fair lady

At his feet

Instead he elevated her

Took her by his side

Smiled his warm brown eyes

Her heart went pitter-patter

In answer to his

He gave the peace

From the uncertainty and turmoil

That she sought

Happiness filled her heart and soul

She never wanted to let him go

He felt the same

She was glad to know

So they began a journey

Together they could meet

Any strife

For life is the foundation

For two hearts  

 To beat as one

©Sheilagh Lee February 13, 2018

Tuesday Writings #28-Happiness Personfied

Happiness Personfied

She is tiny and wrinkled

Her face, red and a little battered

Like she’s been through a war

She has,she tried so hard

With mother’s help to be born

But after many, many hours

Her mother worn

They pulled her from her cozy home

Into the cold bright world

She is a newborn baby girl

Long awaited and loved so much

She’ll grow up big and strong

The apple of her father’s, mother’s

And grandparent’s eyes.

©Sheilagh Lee January 24,  2018

Tuesday Writings#27~ End Prejudice

Prompts this week : Impartiality, Enlightened, Educated.

End Prejudice

Words uttered having meaning

They cannot be tracked back

Rewritten with different meaning

Racism is racism

Shameful and demeaning

It should be talked about

Telling the person who utters it

No, this is not acceptable

Educate the children teach them well

So they can teach their elders

No more bigotry,

No more bias too,

Just a world where men,

And women are not judged,

By the differences they hold,

Let’s find the courage,

The dignity and the conviction,

To transform prejudice, backward, beliefs,

Into tolerance and impartiality,

It is possible to become more enlightened,

The words in back rooms,

Behind closed doors,

Still echo in the world,

Let’s end that hidden prejudice, too

For educated, open-minded people

Want to live in that world.

©Sheilagh Lee January 16,  2018

Tuesday Writings -No#26

Tuesday Writings -No#26

Prompts this week: Denouement, Stardust, Turncoat

This is an imagining not anything I know personally.

The denouement of my life

Came when the stardust fell from my eyes

I saw them for what they really were

Not family, not people who loved me

But turncoats who thought of only themselves.

©Sheilagh Lee January 10, 2018