Fairies

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