optimism – Page 6 – Hues of Hankinson

Thank you, Ariana Grande

One love

We all stand tall

Young and old united

One voice one song one heart one soul

Love wins.

Alison Jean Hankinson

This is my one (oops I didn’t realise it was one and did more the other week…sorry) offering for d’Verse open link night as I would like it to be read.

This is an attempt at a cinquain, inspired by yesterday watching the Ariana Grande “One Love” concert from home. My roots and heritage are from Salford and Manchester and what she did last night was a great gesture of love, compassion and courage especially following the events in London on Saturday evening. The care she demonstrated towards the students of Parrs Wood School Choir was heart-warming. Thank you, Ariana Grande.

The photo is my own, we went as a family to pay our respects and lay flowers in the week following the tragedy.

In this life…

In this life of complex order and sequence

Is a simplicity and fragility that is there to guide us.

We must value the moment we hold in our hands

Take it and treasure it and place it in our conscious mind.

In this life of uncertainty and fragmented disenchantment

we must honour the souls of the ones that came before us

So that that our own endeavours however meagre and small

Will have dignity and connection in their labour and toil.

We must appreciate the moments of beauty and bounty

And be humble and honest and have integrity.

Lest all that we know should be gone tomorrow

In this life of tragedy and human sorrow.

Alison Jean Hankinson

Whilst I wrote this on Saturday it was entirely with the sentiments of d’Verse poetics challenge that was looking for poems to save the soul….and I think we have suffered greatly in the last few weeks with the attacks on London and Manchester and I wanted to peel back the layers to what is still important and will always be important.

Today was a very blustery day….a pooh bear kind of day, and so long as we remember to feel the wind on our face and acknowledge it for what it is we are still clearly alive and functioning.

Brunton Park boogie-woogie

Grey-haired renegades

Body-popping bimble-bugs

Summer spirits soar.

We were highly entertained on a beautiful summer evening at Brunton Park, Carlisle watching the UB40 Grandslam tour. It was a relaxed affair, every bit old school reggae with some Level 42 for good measures. I suspect the average age of the audience was pushing 50. The beer flowed, everything was mellow and there were smiling happy people enjoying sunshine, good music and a little bit of bimbling bopping…I get auto-corrected every time I try to use bimbling, but it is a word…although I took the liberty of adding to it in my short senryu

It was a long walk home and I suspect there will be many had tired and aching feet and a few with added hangover this morning, but it was a welcome reminder of the good natured side of eighties life…there was nothing to prove…no hidden dystopian novellas wrapped in shady riffs, just sunshine and the occasional syncopated rhythm from a trill trumpet or a laid back sax. Reggae on renegades.

Alison Jean Hankinson

Let’s be clear on why we’re here.

To love unconditionally

To pass the tests

Of time

To be humble

To walk in awe

Of nature

To be kind to others

To share our wealth

Whatever that may be-

Humour, love, strength, patience

Words of wisdom

To listen carefully.

To be brave

To walk forward into battle

With a steadfast heart

And rising mettle

Knowing that win or lose

We wagered.

To be wise

Keep calm and peaceful

In the storms that rage inside

And know that tomorrow the skies will clear

And beyond the misty gloom

The rainbows will reappear.

Kia Kaha- to be strong

To guard our children fiercely

And cry real tears of sorrow

For all the mothers who have lost their children

And know that every day is long

For someone.

Alison Jean Hankinson

For d’Verse poetics, again written this weekend- I was clearly in need of some chicken soup for the soul. I would hope that this is an optimistic poem and a reminder that we are humble and to be cognisant of the battles we are all fighting underneath the surface.

With love.

Storm clouds gather over Heysham Head.

Against the backdrop of the sea

My love for you rises with the tide

No plain nor perfect place I would rather be

With my time-worn soulmate at my side.

Sunset over Lakeland Hills

Windmills as far as the eye can see

Hand in hand we walk the sands

No plain nor perfect place I would rather be.

Storm clouds on the horizon

Wind blows strong across the land

Sudden wind chill makes us shiver

Hand in hand we walk the sands.

We head for home across the Head

In the Church ruins shelter and hide

Against the backdrop of the sea

My love for you rises with the tide.

Alison Jean Hankinson

Submitting this for open link night. At d’Verse.

Kindness

Fever 104

Death knocking at the door

And she gave the gift of kindness.

Caressed my burning brow

Spoke with soft and soothing tones

Let me know I was not alone.

Alison Jean Hankinson

January 2011 and I was extremely ill and with fever, there was this wonderful nurse who throughout the Saturday night as doctors came and went, cared for me, she put wet flannels on my head, and came every 10 minutes to let me know I was not alone, it was the middle of the night and all my family were gone and her kindness will always stay with me. It was at that point in my life that I think I really understood that the kindness of a friend or stranger is always one of the most bountiful and unexpected gifts.

The photo is from St Ann’s Square in Manchester today, I was struck again by this word. It will always have more power than hatred. A tribute to the nurse that cared for me and the people of Manchester.

The challenge tonight as d’Verse was to write about a gift.

Sunset Silhouette

The sun goes down across the sound

The sky across the water shimmers

I see your footsteps in the sand

Your fading silhouette gets dimmer

In this moment my dreams abound

For fear of loss recedes and withers

My love for you is strong as hewn

From landscapes framed in moon.

This was really hard, it was for d’Verse and we were challenged to write in a form called Ottava Rima. This was beautiful Morecambe Bay Sands .

They sing for him.

It is the community singing that does it for my Dad every time,

Every rugby and football match those anthems for the common man.

They capture heart and soul, and bridge dreams and memories

And he sings with them, they become one voice,

one song, one breath-taking moment

of shared understanding and surrender,

of solidarity, stoicism and strength.

His heart was broken

In that shared moment he saw it and claimed it.

His grief, his passion, his anger, his will to live

all in the community singing.

They sing for him.

Alison Jean Hankinson

poetics d’Verse

This is for Poetics and the evening is being hosted by Paul Scribbles and the theme was community.

His heart was broken is a play on the words from The Proclaimers song Sunshine on Leith which is the anthem for Hibernian Football club. It has become one of my dad’s favourites even though he is a Turf Moor fan at heart.

Here is a link to a rendition of it:

Hibs 2016

Fear receding….

The transition to seaside life has been a total joy. However dark and difficult the long days of winter were with their obstacles barriers and uncertainties and the fears that we would somehow fail. There was always a small smattering of hope that things would eventually work out for the better. We have been able to rekindle our love for our own culture and connections, track back through pathways and places that were already part of our story and re-establish the significance of our own place in this wonderful landscape.

The move in springtime to Heysham has been a wonderful and welcome move into what promises to be a pleasant phase of our lives. The sea and scenery are endless sources of peace, calm and serenity. The joy to be able to walk and witness this place in all its beauty and glory for just a small part of each day is genuine food for the soul. There is a song by Groove Armada it is such a seaside song, it talks of sand-dunes and salty air and it is just the sentiment of this place, a seaside town resting on its laurels and trying to reinvent itself as the coastal jewel in the crown resting at the foothills of the Lake District. Mountains on the horizon, resplendent in a salmon sunset, windmills stretching out to sea as far as the eye can see, ancient history carved into the headland and wilderness, wind and wavespray.

Mid tide Glasson Dock

In sprightly spring-time sunshine

Fear and dark thoughts ebb

Alison Jean Hankinson

This is my late offering for Haibun Monday and is about fear receding.

d”verse Haibun

oops just missed the link by 35 minutes…