Time

Pictures from London (2009)

On a visit to London in autumn 2009 it was wonderful to
revisit some of the places I had been so many years earlier
when on my travels.

Even though it was autumn in London, the streets seemed vibrant
with colour and the flowers in Hyde Park were magnificent.  Hyde Park
is beautiful with the Serpentine Lake and on this visit I enjoyed walking
through the park and admiring he autumn colours of the leaves. 

Brightly
coloured baskets of flowers were hanging from balconies and I had also
noticed this in Los Angeles.  This was noticeable as I made my way
to the British Museum.  It was so wonderful to visit these places and
hope to return.
  At the British Museum are wonderful exhibits of Egyptian
jewellery and artifacts which are also quite fascinating to view. 

By the Embankment/Temple area of London by the Thames is the place
where John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster had his great palace of the Savoy,
with terraced gardens going down to the river and pennants flying high so
all could see from a distance the Savoy Palace.  It is fascinating to wander
around this area where there is also a medieval church from tudor times.
Looking down the Thames River from a bridge can be seen all of the
wonderful splendour and architecture of London.  Domes, spires, cathedrals.
Even on an overcast day of autumn the magnificence seems to tell its own story.

I wrote this poem earlier in the year:

TIME

Through these splendoured Halls of Fame

Whence the courtiers and kings came

In the whirls of worlds before

In the in-between shadows

and times forestalled;-

Of life and love

and a reign supreme-

As time turned around

from before

the in-betwixt time

the kings and queens also did shine:

Time is an open book, they say:-

Never to stop,

Not look back

and which, in its path

all life must brook

As the jackdaws at a tower do stalk;

Bells chiming merrily

beside the Thames-

And good wishes from all her friends-

Beautiful London,

green and treasured,

magnificent city

Palaces and shrines;

Old London Town,

which could tell

A thousand stories

many glories;

As Henry VIII and his six wives

moved on,

at a relentless pace,

From a time, the Pilgrimage of Grace;

Reformation, new ideas, - queens

The tower for two, divorce for two,

Survival for one, loss of another one.

And now at the Abbey did she shine:-

Kate looking happy,

“The Most Happy” -

Anne Boleyn's motto

From a not so distant past:-

Westminster Abbey,

beautiful, serene,

a resting place

of kings and queens,

and poet's corner;

A Magnificent Setting,

A Perfect Wedding Theme:-

And now today

the accolades and cheers

A Duchess of Cambridge

at the Stairs:

A magnificent history of Time-

And from whence now,

The King James Bible doth shine:-

400 years, this year,

an anniversary,

1611;

2011;

and now time revolves again,

A Thousand years of history

And the Wedding Bells did chime

A beautiful, London Wedding fine:

The silver line of

Old Father Thames-

beautiful, picturesque postcard

reality;

Atop the bridge,

Tower Green,

the saddest place on earth,

tells its own story;

From along the banks of the riverside-

A feast of sights,

of old churches, domes, beside

Stand out prominently

beneath the gaze

of a traveller who looks in wonderment

at this maze:-

Old London Town comes alive

with its cobbled streets,

horses and carts,

akin to the time of Shakespeare;

and later,

of the Globe and theatres

of the time of Nell Gwynn:-

Herein also lies a story,

Of the magnificent restoration of Charles II

to the throne.

London with its stories

old and new

will never cease to amaze:-

And we can all lift our hearts

to praise:

Mighty London

and strength of kings,

Therein lies a secret

of a Destiny: