let’s welcome the poet
teacher and miner
our neighbours who visit
the landlord the farmer
those loyal supporters
all lovers all sinners
the long distance drivers
all losers all winners
those who have been
some who seek but can’t find
if you’re surging ahead
if you’ve been left behind
you wellybob wearers
the bright and the shiny
the tired and hungry
and a teeny bit whiny
we welcome the public
the young and the old
with tales of the past
to be told then retold
the regular punter
with his dog and his stick
botanical experts
who have spotted a fig
the remberer when
and who could forget
the ladies who lunch
the doubters who bet
that it couldn’t be done
but what do they know
of the days some remember
when the ovens would glow
the tingle of fingers
the crunch of the snow
the shadow of winter
as black as the crow
the excitement at pineapples
the smell of sweet peas
the secrets of seasons
the shelter of trees
the creak of a floorboard
crackle of flame
the beat of a heart
when she whispered his name
an owl in the darkness
that catches a mouse
a world in a story
wrapped up in this house