Stone dog supporting pillar, chateau de Pierrefonds, France
Poets In Their Melancholy: Poem
Poets In Their Melancholy
Poets, with troubled lives and secret thoughts
Have often stood and looked this way
And in this half light, strong and secret
What they thought, nobody can say
As dusk fell, and windows would close
Some words from soft songs would drift in
And take root in the present; some lines
Would nestle in a stranger’s heart and brain.
Poets, lost in their melancholy
Lost in the muddle of their lives
Weave verse and rhyme: and thus it is
That their work their lives suvives.
Copyright: Rani Turton
Destiny Dragging On: Poem
Destiny Dragging On
My destiny is tired.
The slope leads upwards, onwards,
Into clouds and far beyond.
My destiny, like me, walks slowly
Mumbles softly
Remembers ancient rhymes.
My destiny, not knowing why
Hardly realising that every game has it’s rules
Has decided to try
Though, tired, and betrayed,
A little bit frayed
Has decided tired and betrayed
To carry on, far beyond, with aching feet,
On the winding path, the trees
The boulders and rocks
To avoid the torrent gushing beneath
.Copyright: Rani Turton
Leaves, How They Do Fall: Poem
Leaves, How They Do Fall
Leaves, how they do fall
Do they happen to wonder at all
Why the earth happens to turn
And them, with seasons spurned.
When they fall onto the earth
Carpetting the ground with their mirth
Do they think of the spring
And the life that it will finally bring?
That the cycle of life begins
That the waltz of seasons spins
Now leaves tumble and fall
One more autumn, one more fall.
Copyright (text and image): Rani Turton
Speak To Me Then: Poem
SPEAK TO ME THEN
Speak to me, then, softly and low
Speak to me about all the places that you’ve known
Tell me about your life and why
Your eyes, your hands, your face
Reminds me of things long gone by
Speak to me then, about your feelings and fears
I’ll listen, I promise, I never will stop
Your flow of words, the timbre of your voice
Gives me shivers and leaves me no choice
Speak to me then about passion and pain
And I will listen until it is dawn again
Your voice is so low, so beautiful, so grave
It sets alight the stars in the night;
Your voice is what when the years spin by
The missing substance that I will crave;
Your voice will bring the tears to my eyes
Years later at every sunrise.
Copyright: Rani Turton
Poem: Dragonfly, Dragonfly
DRAGONFLY, DRAGONFLY
Dragonfly, dragonfly,
Please don’t pass me by
Wait with me a little while
Whilst I look, wonder and smile
You, my poetic inspiration
Maybe even for Da Vinci’s invention
Did you teach the planes to fly?
You lovely, lovely dragonfly.
I can see you poised and still
On the leaf, and thus until
Blazes the kind summer sun
Until coldest winter has begun.
Branch,pond, flower and breeze,
Wait a while with me now please;
We shared the silence, but now
You’ve flown onto another bough.
Copyright (Text and photograph) : Rani Turton
Lovely Face Over A Window
A smiling face over a window in Troyes, France. Embellishments like this make ordinary structures so beautiful.
At Sunset, Today
At Sunset, Today
At sunset, today when the sky turns red
When clouds, try to veil the sky; when birds nest
And are too tired to fly
When workers, tired, straggle back home
And school has closed for the day
And in houses the curtains are drawn
When lights spring into life
And the spirit, tranquil, reflects
On the events of the day
At sunset, today, when the sky turns red
Father, grant everyone his daily bread.
Copyright: Rani Mathur-Turton
Closing Years: Poem
Closing Years
In these closing years of your life
Each time I see your white hair that was once so black
Your body bent that once walked so straight
I remember you throwing me up in your arms
And waiting for you impatiently at the gate
Let time quietly glide away
And grace touch every moment that is left
Never to know distress, worry, stress
And when you close your eyes to rest one day
It might be to the sound of familiar footsteps I guess
That you can follow without any fear in your heart;
And to the sound of soft beloved voices,
Maybe that is the way loved ones depart.
Copyright: Rani Turton
Street Art, Monkey, France
Painted yellow monkey walking on all fours against a green background at St Malo, France.
Artisan of Words 