Pause to Reflect

By Celia Law

Many people go through life without ever seriously reflecting on the events which have shaped their experiences. Without recognising each special occasion as a moment to be treasured and learnt from. Without seeing the simple, pure thread of wisdom hidden underneath what may seem to us a tangled problem, or an unexpected turn of events. But these are life's gifts to us, for they will all certainly take place within our histories and over the years will turn into precious memories from which, the wisdom of the commonplace grows and can be seen.

 

You may have heard it said that there is more to writing a poem than just making a story that rhymes. And there is more to being a poet than just being able to accomplish that rhyme. The true poet is blessed with a wider vision, their words convey something more than they might immediately suggest. Celia Law is one of these people.

 

Through these poems she is an expression of her times. She shares with us the lessons and insights of her story. The honest wisdom gained through her revelation of inspiration and the pain and joy of experience. Her poems stir the emotions like wooden spoons. They arouse a humour that all can share. They tell us of the higher ideals of life which are ever-present behind the veil of what we know as every day. It is true that wisdom is gained through reflection and through this act the things that you may soon forget are made special

 

Through the compassion and spirituality contained within these 80 or so poems, we are being reminded to respect people, time and places for their own merit.

 

So read this work and see what you may find and feel the emotions that they stir, and be assured that you will find and feel something!

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Celia Law
• Release date: Apr 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393200024

Celia Law

My Poetry is written from the heart. Drawing from experiences of living in Kent (UK) and current affairs throughout my life. Educated at Secondary Modern, and leaving school at only fifteen. I am married with two children and have at present, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. My poetry reflects life as I have seen it and I am sure there are many people that will relate to them. I get so much pleasure from writing poetry and I hope I am sharing this pleasure with you.

Book preview

A Note from the Author

I was born in 1943, nearing the end of the war. My dad was in the Navy, doing his bit as a stoker on HMS Sheffield, and mum and I lived with my grandparents.

Dad was demobbed from the Forces when I was three and soon went back to work on the farm he worked at before the war started. We were given a cottage to live in, situated in a small village called St Nicholas-at-Wade on the north Kent coast in the UK. It was a bit grim, we had no bathroom and the toilet was up at the end of the garden!

Money was always a problem and we had to take in many lodgers to help pay the way. However, as the years moved on things gradually improved and life got better, we eventually even got an inside bathroom and toilet!

The last person who lodged with us, I fell in love with and we soon married, moving on to Paddock Wood, a larger industrious village, but still in Kent and in tow was our nine month old daughter.

Then sadly, at the young age of fifty-one my mother-in-law died, and my husband’s younger brothers (aged ten and eleven) came to live with us and things, as you can imagine, got very hard again. We had five mouths to feed and five bodies to clothe, but we got through it – we had to! Thank goodness for Jumble Sales for play clothes. We always managed however, to get them brand new clothes for school. During this time our son was born.

When the boys reached the ages of fourteen and fifteen their dad re-married and so they went back to live with him and his new wife. I was only twenty-four and though it was hard, I would not change a thing and the boys, even today, are still a big part of our lives.

I am now 77 and here we are again, times have got bad again, this time due to the Coronavirus. I think the hard times I went through when I was younger has put me in good stead for what is happening now – my husband and I are in self-isolation. My poems reflect the hard times and can remind us that we can always pick ourselves up and when necessary, move on.

I first published this book all the way back in 1997, where I personally paid for its printing and distribution. Recently it was suggested by my son that a modern E-Book version be made available. I hope you enjoy my poetry.

Celia Law, April 2020

A Note from the Publisher

Due to the nature of the formatting and line spacing of a poetry book, the publisher recommends that you read the book in landscape orientation, especially if you read the book on a smaller device such as a phone or one of the smaller Kindles.

Thank you and enjoy.

Forward

Many people go through life without ever seriously reflecting on the events which have shaped their experiences. Without recognising each special occasion as a moment to be treasured and learnt from. Without seeing the simple, pure thread of wisdom hidden underneath what may seem to us a tangled problem, or an unexpected turn of events. But these are life’s gifts to us, for they will all certainly take place within our histories and over the years will turn into precious memories from which, the wisdom of the commonplace grows and can be seen.

Celia’s poems are works of life’s art. They express the wisdom of the commonplace. They show us that some of those lessons which we fail to learn which seem so difficult to understand are in fact best understood as part of a blindingly simple process. A process which is so complex in itself that only a few simple laws can govern it. The process of living.

Take for example, the collection of poems entitled ‘Past Memories’, Chapter one. Reading through these poems gives the reader many images about the life of the poet but it also makes one think about our own life and the