Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Edinburgh




ABC WEDNESDAY

Letter 'E'

EDINBURGH
I have visited Edinburgh several times
But the visits have been brief,
A passing mix of happiness
Tinged with the pain of grief.
I first went there when in my teens,
A hitch-hiker back then,
Thumbing my way round England,
To the North and back again!
My memories are very vague
Lost in the mists of time,
But certainly I do recall
Hitch-hiking was no crime.
My second visit was tragic.
I returned from overseas
Because my sister was dying
From Hodgkinsons disease.
She was married to a Scotsman
So my parents stayed up North.
I was teaching, by then, in Deal,
So I travelled back and forth.
This was a very unhappy time,
For all the family,
But I could tell what a lovely place
 Edinburgh could be.
Finally, not long ago,
We were there on holiday;
My god-daughter, called Julie,
A doctor, was there to stay.
And her mother, Althea, my friend,
Was there on holiday too,
So touring the lovely city
Was a wonderful thing to do.
And what a wealth of history
We discovered at every turn!
So much to see, so much to do,
And what a lot to learn.
I never saw the great Tattoo,
The tourist 'must' to see,
But wandering with Althea
Was good enough for me.
The Castle from the old city.

Calton Hill near where Julie lived.


An historic lane.


A famous landmark with a history.
(A dog that waited for his dead master for years.)

An old picture of the hospital where Mollee died.

*
---------------------------------------------------


LILIBET

We were little girls together, Lilibet and I,
Living in the same country, under a rain-washed sky.
But she never knew about me, and why should she, for you see
I wasn't even aristocracy.
*
Her face was on the biscuit tins, with Princess Margaret Rose,
Both of them so pretty, striking a regal pose,
I'd think about those little girls, comparing them with me
For I wasn't even aristocracy.
*
Their lives seemed such a fairy-tale compared with other girls!
Their pretty dresses, smiling faces, and carefully brushed curls,
I used to wonder to myself how it could possibly be
That I wasn't like the aristocracy.
*
But Wealth and Crown have dwindled as objects of desire
For Health and Happiness, to me, now rank a great deal higher.
And I am quite contented with my lowly family-tree
And they're welcome to it.......aristocracy.
*

6 comments:

Maude Lynn said...

I'm so glad that you got to see Edinburgh under happy circumstances!

Reader Wil said...

Edinburgh is a great choice! I love that place too. I am sorry you lost your sister. Even if it might be some time ago, it remains a sore spot in your heart.
I love both your poems. Thanks for sharing.
Wil, ABC Wednesday Team.

Roger Owen Green said...

I used to hitchhike a lot in my early 20's, back when one could.

A place can be defined by events; glad you found happier memories of Edinburgh.

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

joanne said...

your photos of Edinburgh are lovely....living in America, we don't get to see such ornate structures....I remember that story about the loyal dog....And, the hell with Lilibet, anyway!

Kay L. Davies said...

I spent a week in Edinburgh with my parents, my sister and brothers and their spouses, in 1996, and loved it. We did get to see the Tattoo and it was spectacular.
And the only time I saw Lilibet was in 1951, when she was still a princess, and I was not quite five years old.
K

Winifred said...

Edinburgh is lovely. Nice you have some happy memories of it too.

I remember being fascinated by the flower clock in Princes Street Gardens when I was little.

Last time I was there I loved the concerts in those beautiful gardens. Vivaldi in the park was lovely with all the traffic of Princes Street just a few yards away.