He stepped out for just a little while
He only wanted a breath of fresh air
Yet in the time that he was gone
His life had changed he was aware.
No more the carefree easy life
That he now recognised he’d led
For now on hourly watch was he
From rising till he went to bed.

Though still he wouldn’t change a thing
For life and love had brought them here
His role was now to take good care
And those he loved, protect from fear.

He rises now with renewed vigour
Old age is such a powerful trigger.

©Joe Wilson – Love brings us home…2017

In the streets we lived, Hugh and I
Where an old penny-piece was like gold
Where folks only had the clothes on their back
In the streets where Hugh and I lived.

And children like us didn’t get many toys
For the money there was, was thin spread
So those that we had we played with for years
In the streets where Hugh and I lived.

And two score and ten was a long life for men
Mothers oft raised the kids on their own
Yet raise us they did as they worked to their grave
In the streets where Hugh and I lived.

We didn’t have much, but we knew what we had
And the struggles it took to get by
But the kinship was there and the love it was all
At the core in the streets where we lived.

And though all those streets have long been pulled down
It’s only the memories that remain
We’re just two old men now who talk of such things
And the streets back where Hugh and I lived.

©Joe Wilson – Two old friends…2017

Busy ports, container ships
Filled by cranes with tightened grips
Thousands of them in each load
Sail the world on seaward road.
Maersk is one and P & O
Carrying goods for every joe
Catching tides where’re they sail
Weathered seamen tell the tale.

And in the midst of all that’s sent
A gift is there for you that’s meant
To bring a smile to your sweet face
You make the world a better place.
Yet such a gift is far too small
For one who makes me feel so tall.

©Joe Wilson – Gifts from abroad…2017