So softly in the summer night
Your fragile vessel has set sail,
Back through your Irish Infancy,
Bound for the Islands of the Blest.
We stand upon our adult shores
And through the curtain of our tears
Perceive at last, in all its grace,
Your loving presence in our lives.
Now comes the gathering of our years,
the harvest of our childhood days,
And in the barns of memory
We store the blessings
of your love.
For my brothers and sisters
In loving memory of our Mother 1903 – 1992
Granny bought me a lavender bag
Of pink with a white silk bow.
I lost my precious lavender bag
And they hunted high and low,
In every room, beneath the chairs,
Behind the pot plants on the stairs.
Among the slippers, shoes and toys,
Beneath the settle in the hall,
Between the books on every shelf,
Inside the clock against the wall,
In each dark corner, pink and round
My muslin bag could not be found.
They searched all day and half the night
And still they looked in vain,
On every path around the house
And up and down the lane,
Behind the hedge, along the track,
Among the flowerpots in the back.
The days went by, the bag was lost
And no more called to mind,
But then by chance in a tiny drawer,
My treasure did I find.
The joy they felt was clear to see,
But happiest of all was me!
For Bess
Oh, where is my Teddy?
I can’t go to bed
If I haven’t got Teddy
To place by my head.
I don’t think I left him
Downstairs in the hall,
Or lost in the garden
Where the grass grows so tall.
I had him this morning
With me in the car,
I don’t think he fell out,
He can’t have gone far.
He’s not in the bathroom,
I did have a peep,
If I haven’t got Teddy
I can’t go to sleep.
I’ve searched in the kitchen
Where I know Teddy runs
When he’s looking for honey
Or sugary buns.
Will you please find my Teddy
And bring him to me,
I’m lonely without him
And he misses me.
Will you tell him it’s bedtime,
Mummy’s kissed me goodnight,
We said “God bless Daddy”
And turned out the light.
But I lie awake, waiting
Alone in the dark
And thinking of Teddy
With me in the park.
It’s cosy and warm
And I soon fall asleep,
I dream of green monsters
In blue oceans deep.
When I wake in the morning,
Beside me in bed
I find Teddy sleeping,
Just like Mummy said!
Helier lost his Teddy, and found it! April 1976
I have a homing instinct for the stars 
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