Monday, August 15, 2011

Holding Back the Tide


MAGPIE TALES
supplied the illustration

HOLDING BACK THE TIDE

With paint and rollers, sweat and strain
We try to make things good again.
When time and usage make their mark
We must ignite the initial spark....
The time when our house was fresh and new
And our refurbishing plans were few.
Our home was viewed with complacent pride,
And we were neatly tucked inside.
But rust and mould and flaking paint
Were all at work, though their mark was faint.
A touch-up job just now and again
Could turn the losses into gain.
A new tile here, a new tap there
Could give the place a well-kept air.
But, as the years creep on and on,
We find pristineness has up and gone.
Finally, even the rollers die;
They give up the ghost, refuse to try.
We find we cannot run away
From the powering tide known as Decay.

*

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THE TREASURE OF SRODA SLASKA!

Blanche of Valois what were you like
In the days when you wore this crown?
Were you tall or were you short
And were your eyes blue or brown?
Were you happy to be a Queen
Or were your problems weighty?
Did you die from the dreadful plague
Or live till you were eighty?
Your crown was dug-up in recent times
With other artifacts
In the town of Sroda Slaska
But we don't know many facts.
We believe the Emperor Charles the Fourth
Pawned the treasure to pay his debts,
But then the plague came to Poland,
So that's as close as it gets.
I imagine your coronation, Blanche.
Was the crown heavy on your head?
Did you look at Charles adoringly
Or with a look of dread?
The crown is just dead metal now,
Beautiful though it is.
But it was warmed by your human warmth
The day you became his.
You were as living as I am, Blanche,
So, in that, we are both the same.
But you once wore the ermine
And trod the paths of fame.
Blanche of Valois what were you like
In the days when you wore this crown?
Were you tall or were you short
And were your eyes blue or brown?

*

4 comments:

Helen said...

Double whammy!!!

Maude Lynn said...

Ah, the homeowner's curse! Great magpie!

Helena said...

Nice x 2! My paint is getting dreary and a bit flaky....oh no, hold on, that's ME! And no brush in the world's ever gonna cover that....*sigh*

PattyF said...

Wow! I loved both your offerings here! The Magpie piece was excellent and so, so true!