Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Holiday time and meetings





Harbour Lights Poets (ride again).

Time to remind our friends that the next meeting of the Harbour Lights poets will be on Sunday 29th of July.  For the sake of any new guests to our group we gather at 2pm in the meeting room above the Harbour Lights Café at the Look and Sea centre, by the beautiful River Arun in Littlehampton. West Sussex. For more info, email: dafbelt@outlook.com

Everybody is welcome, watchers and listeners are just as warmly invited as poets and writers of any level, in fact we love to encourage, help or advise and greet beginners or just sit and lap up more experienced visiting poets work. Please do join us for a couple of hours.

Steve, Anthony Towers and I have been on a swimming and hiking holiday in Reifnitz on the Wörtersee in Austria, where the surroundings are stunningly, breathtakingly scenic and inspiring.
Looking toward the mountains in Slovenia from our table at dinner last night

A Hike in Austria

Taking what was less than a path uphill
just after breakfast with some time to kill,
needing to shake holiday sloth away
Crank up the limbs to work more than just play.
Rising sharply from the village below
Into thick woodland where dark shadows grow.
A deer leapt, the flash of furry rust red
of his flanks as through sunlight he sped.
A mountain stream spat the tiniest frog
who crawled up a leaf and on to a log,
through trees we saw a marvellous vista
turquoise lake surface of sparkling glister.
Give thanks to fortune to have such a life,
hand in hand fondly, a husband and wife.



Mouse Mountain

A mountain side cowshed turned
into a chic hotel conversion.
From fancy brochure we learned
funky individuality emersion.

Each room furnished
by a well known designer
wall art, coffee table
and smooth leather recliner.

The trendy restaurant serves
Dishes, artistic yet regional,
wide reaching and international
wine list and fruit that was seasonal.

The vast buffet breakfast presents
Swiss delicacies and specialities
Experienced staff that were fluent
in languages for all nationalities.

Early morning breakfasters
were it seemed, few on the ground.
On that morning just one other
couple entered, glancing around.

They strolled to the far end and
he sat down with his back to the wall,
she took the seat opposite, facing him.
She looked in and he could see all.

Between our two tables appeared
the furriest mouse I ever saw
lush mountain coat, a comic appearance
fur coated mice in such places are law.

Insects and rodents don’t bother me
but watching her husband’s eyes….
Turned to see what it was he saw;
She screamed, blood curdling cries.

She kept on bellowing her alarm
skirt held tight climbed on a chair
I turned to face my other half
he went and hid by the buffet there.

The manager apologised to the lady
who was still distraught by that.
He brought a mousetrap and the cat;
Placed them both near to where she sat.

That couple left the hotel soon after
leaving behind the horror of the house.
On my dessert plate that evening was
a huge ice cream with a marzipan mouse.


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