This poem was commissioned by Artist Carolyn Blake for her book called The Unchanging Traveller published in March 2022
On returning to lush green undulating Yorkshire
To the town where I was born and raised
Occasionally I will saunter to station platform Number Five
Where at the far end a glass shelter still solitarily stays
As if fairy dust memories...former times slip into my mind
Vivid lucid alive they linger to evoke again to remind and thrive
Under that awning I believe our youth burned and blazed Burgeoning years time to talk giggle kiss and each other praise Hugging whilst loving our newfound teenage freedom amazed How grown up we thought we were, yet still only children to be assuaged Within unbounded eagerness to be our own person...impatient to be set free Amid that hallowed long whispered youth was my first love's secret spoken
From in our not so hidden unfettered yet warm with feelings hive Locks in fascinating hidden memories we innocently brought alive un stolen
Though unfazed we tentatively discovered each other so much fun derived
Grazing on our new yet secret knowledge our eyes opened we thrived
A badge of honour to be a little rebellious do whatever we liked,
The hub of so much young joy now those feelings so real and admired
Perched as love birds on that bench under the shelter
Our wild imaginings released sparking in their flight
We strongly formed our unity of bonded hearts heat sweltered
Occasionally we would bring our cycles and ride countryside's sites
Though before we playfully hugged and kissed nothing more than that
Yet it felt like the whole world to us, yet still curious innocent kids
Our shelter shielded us from wind lashing rain and ice that clad
A home away from parents and siblings ever prying eyes fixed
My heart then felt it could never contain this new kind of happiness
When we were as one no-one could separate our newfound tenderness So in the here and now I once again recline my mind and dine
One those revealing times long since past but yet still to find
When I am feeling a little sentimental I begin again to shine
With thoughts ambling in my focused consciousness defined
Set in those heady enthralling youthful days that swiftly fly
Everyday I feel gratitude they were the stepping stones to life's journeys
In which we paved and steered from childhood to adulthood's highs
By which our spirits still remain and live in both our creative amazing lives.
Copyright Natasha Anne Kelleher 2022 All Rights Reserved
Image Freepik.com No copyright infringement intended
