Reminiscence...

This same festive time of every year
Returns me back to days long gone
Scents and smells of home cooking
Christmas cakes and fruit puddings
Lovingly baked and nicely decorated
It was the very best of feelgood spirit
Anticipation of the season had begun
Excitement as decorations were hung
Christmas gifts under the sparkly tree
I loved childhood days of innocence
A magical warmth savoured so well
Times now seen through reminiscence…

Eileen T O’Neill 14^th December 2023

Garden Tree...

Life’s existence can be measured by habit and change
Surroundings influence moods and demeanour
Each seasonal transition brings about a new view
Garden trees become guides throughout the year
Amidst winter’s usual dreary, cold and frosty gloom
Trees with their emaciated branches stand all forlorn
Limbs outstretched as though seeking an embrace
It’s a stark time whilst nature’s ways take their course
Knowing that a springtime of revival will follow-on
There’s such hope to be gained from those early signs
Green buds offer an incalculable uplift when first seen
Shoots of new growth dressing scrawny woody arms
It’s the perfect moment to regain optimism’s energy
To feel connected to Mother earth and a spirituality
My garden tree provides a colourful canopy of shelter
Whenever summertime’s warmth shines through
Birdlife perches from dawn’s first light, until dusk
I observe each year’s passing within sight of this tree…

 Eileen T O’Neill 07/12/2023