Thanks guys, for your kind comments..
Here's one inspired by Stephanie's scarecrow tour :)

Picture by Tony Tooth

‘Ere i stand, far from grand, me shirt stuffed full o’ straw,
an old oat sack, for an ‘ed, me coat -the farmers he once wore.

A rickety stick is what ‘olds me up, tied by lace from some old boot,
an’ in me pockets you’ll only find, things the crows won’t even loot.

I’m in no doubt, that i got nought, was only made to scare the crows,
so ‘ere i stand, lookin over land, keepin’ guard to all that grows.

Sodden beneath the endless rain, the wind it breaks me stitch,
and with me arms fixed out at either side, i can’t even bend to scratch an itch.

So I ‘ope someday, in some small way, I’ll be thanked for what I do,
for without me ‘ere, it’s pretty clear, there’d be no bread for folks to chew.

And so one sad day, when i ’s a pile of hay, restin in the big ol’ loft above,
an’ you’re noshin’ ya toast, from some thick-cut loaf, try to think of me with love.

Cause it’s no mean feat, to stay on ya feet, come wind or rain or snow,
just so another man, can ‘av his bran, thanks to me, ye old scarecrow!

http://www.picturesofengland.com/user/Steph1J/tour/Scarecrows

Brilliant, Chris!  Methinks you must be one of the Bard's descendants.

The poet Jan  Kenyon, who died of leukemia at the age of forty-nine, wrote this poem. "Otherwise" I suspect it was written with her illness in mind. I read it as appropriate to one's seventies and beyond.

I got out of bed

on two strong legs

It might have been

otherwise, I ate ceral, sweet

milk, ripe, flawless peach, It might

have been otherwise.

All morning i did the work i love.

At noon I lay down

with my mate. It might have been otherwise.

We ate dinner together

at a table with silver candlesticks. It might have been otherwise.

I slept in a bed

in a room with paintings

on the walls, and planned another day

just like this day

But one day, i know

It will be otherwise

Here is my favourite poem. It was written about the beautiful 14th century tomb effigies of Sir Richard FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel, and his 2nd wife, Countess Eleanor of Lancaster. This table tomb resides in the North Aisle of the nave of Chichester Cathedral and is one of the finest of it's kind. There is a nice photo of the effigies on Flickr, taken by Simon K, at the following site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/norfolkodyssey/3424012419/sizes/l/

 An Arundel Tomb

by Philip Larkin

Great to see the poetry thread back up and running - since we lost Harry we haven't had many entries here. Chris I completely missed that post about the scarecrow! Lovely poem and I am glad you liked the tour.

My sister has just published her first poetry book - very exciting!

Still up to my eyes in work but I wanted to share my sister's good news with you. She has had a poem published on a website. Here is the link - she is Jayne Hall.

http://writers-clinic.webs.com/membersseasonalpoetry.htm

Beautiful Poem by Jayne. Stephanie!  interesting site.

Mindfulness (my meditation)

Sitting---

Just sitting;

mind at ease and fully present;

receptive, open, observant

to whatever happens:

shifting pattern of leaves in a dance

with their shadows;

slant of sunlight on a wall;

a flutter of wings to the birdbath;

mingled scent of flowers and mown grass.

Beyond boundaries of purpose or expectation,

serenely centered in the here and now.