I wrote the first
stanza of this poem for my mother when she was in care after a
serious stroke. She loved it. As a child she believed that if she
squinted and peeped out, she could see fairies, elves and gnomes
playing in the garden. In adulthood she never lost her love of her
childhood imaginary friends.
This was the first
poem I ever wrote. Unfortunately mum died before she heard the second
stanza but I know she would have loved it as she would say how these
imaginings gave her much comfort during troubled times as a child.
Fairies:
If I close my eyes
and peep
The fairies come, they think I sleep.
They dance
about. All night they play,
Then hide again at break of day.
Then when I
sigh and fall asleep
They stroke my hair,
caress my feet
And in the morning
glow of dawn
They soothe my
dreams and keep me warm.
For Mum by James
Goulter