Enhancing and Enchanting Poems

By Iris Therese Smith Reid

Iris Therese Smith Reid has a growing reputation as a poet, particularly in and around Grimsby, Lincolnshire. As well as having written several books of poetry, her work appears from time to time in local magazines and periodicals. The poems here cover a wide range of themes, from the experience of being a small child in a Grimsby air-raid to Iris's thoughts on retirement. On every page, what comes through is a passion for life in all its rich variety and a love of family, friends and the natural world. There are also some accomplished poems contributed by members of Iris's family: her granddaughter Clair Smith and daughter-in-law Kim Brennan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A H Stockwell
• Release date: Nov 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9780722348758

Book preview

Enhancing

and

Enchanting Poems

Iris Therese Smith Reid

ARTHUR H. STOCKWELL LTD

Torrs Park, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 8BA

Established 1898

www.ahstockwell.co.uk

2018 digital version converted and published by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

Copyright © 2018 Iris Therese Reid

First published in Great Britain, 2018

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder.

Love Forever from Me to You

When I first met him I thought how handsome was he –

He was on holiday by the sea with his family.

We spoke to each other lying together on the sand –

I told him I was working on my father’s land.

He had enlisted into the army, he was going far away,

He was celebrating with his family only for that day.

We lazed together by the sea, looking at each other longingly,

Writing notes to each other - we were both young and free.

We put them in bottles, throwing them into the sea.

I wrote, ‘Come back to me, love, forever, from me to you.’

I asked him what he wrote to me - he would not say.

We watched our bottles slowly drifting away.

He said, "We will not be apart for long, of this I am sure.

Fate will bring me back to you and we will be together for evermore."

We kissed goodbye for it was time for him to go.

When we parted I was sad - I would miss him so.

He promised to stay in touch, saying he would write to me –

He kept his promise: he wrote to me constantly,

Telling me about places where he had to be.

He told me his love for me was still the same as before,

How he was now fighting for his life in a great war.

I have been waiting and waiting for so long –

It’s been four long years since he has been gone.

Little did I know I was waiting in vain,

For one day to me a sad telegram came –

War had taken him from me; my love no more would I see.

One day where we both used to lie I lay on the sand,

A bottle washed up to me, landing right into my hand.

It was our bottle, mine and his. My heart skipped a beat –

Something from him to treasure, something for me to keep.

I read what he had written on his note that day:

‘I will come back to you, love, forever, from me to you.’

Calling Me No More

I have been a soldier, wandered far and wide,

Now I need to see the heather beside the River Clyde.

I must go up Ben Nevis, a mountain I used to climb;

I must get my feet into a loch for a little while,

Go sailing on the Moray Firth, swimming in the sea,

For my homeland is calling me. It’s there I need to be.

I was in heaven when I walked in the glen –

I shall be returning, I cannot say when,

For my wandering days are over, no more will I roam,

For my bonny Scotland is calling me back home.

My family are in the Highlands, living high and low –

All of my kinsfolk I do miss them so.

Staying here or going home I was being torn –

Scotland won, my homeland, the place I was born.

I have made my mind up I’m travelling no more –

It won’t be very long now, of this I am sure.

I must return to Scotland - it’s time for me to go –

When I do return there this I do know:

No more shall I go wandering, no more shall I roam,

For my bonny Scotland is calling me back home.

Pretty was the lassie that I used to see –

Both our names are scratched on a rowan tree.

We fished in Loch Lomond, we swam in Loch Ness –

That pretty lassie was to me one of the very best.

It was there that I remember what she said to me:

"Your homeland will keep calling, just you wait and see.

For your bonny Scotland you will shed many a tear,

You will be gone a-roaming, gone for many a year."

Now I’m not that soldier all the world has seen,

For now I’m back in my home living in Aberdeen.

No longer do I wander, no longer do I roam,

For Scotland, my homeland, is now my bonny home.

Footprints in the Sand

Two lovers walking holding hands,

Leaving footprints in the sand.

Promises he made to her:

He would make her rich beyond compare;

He would build her a castle on the shore,

Where they would be safe and secure.

Gazing at each other tenderly,

Love was there for all to see.

They walked together holding hands,

Leaving footprints in the sand.

They said their love would last forever,

They would always stay together,

Dreaming of living in paradise,

Everything good, everything nice.

They had won each other’s heart,

Promising they would never part.

Two innocent lovers, young and free,

Knowing their love was meant to be,

They walked together holding hands,

Leaving footprints in the sand.

He asked her if she