I stayed a while

I met a hound
A character
Wilbur was his given name
A haughty bark
Who made his mark
In the countryside
He staked his claim
Diminutive
Yet boisterous, he
Lived with Robert
Oldham who
Lived in little Heath
A great address
Where badgers and foxes
Never wanted for less

Hollies and hazels
And oaks and pine
Blue bell clusters
That smelled divine
In a hearty home
Once a dairy
Partly
Where cows did graze
And their milk
Was heartily

Given as freely
To those who came
To the little dairy
Whose claim to fame
The house was built
A while ago
When the fire of London
It did glow
Awake to the many cries of grief
A hundred thousands homes
Belief
in wooden structures
Close together they
At Pudding lane
Did burn they say

This amazing house
It’s seclusion, where
Potten End and it’s wild
Ness share
With squirrels and owls
And muntjacs who
Deem to display
Their magic too

I stayed a while
In a dreamy state
In a topper-most room
Where a roof of slate
Harboured a warmth
Expressing control
Giving warmth to a lonely soul
Up and down it was battery driven
A seat that helped my legs to drive
Serenity and such historic values
Really helped me to survive

Claudia a life long friend
Made the acquaintance bountifully
Prepared my room with her gentle ease
Arranged it all which did nobly please
The aged poet bent on rhyme
And enjoying the heritage born in time
A house of character gently so
A wooded copse with a heavenly glow
Prosaic peacefulness pandering to
The solitary gentleman owner who

Three weeks there a holiday
Encapsulated one might say
In regent splendour atop was I
Beautiful beams and walls to sigh
To dream to create my story lines
To sit in the sun and it certainly shines
Where the song birds feed
And heraldically
Soften the hearts of the
Poetry

That flies and flies
All around the place
Rob Oldham’s manner
Each wild embrace
Wilbur his dog a gentle soul
Excited to see us
Knowing his role
A companion animal
Watching o’re
His gentle master
Who he did adore

Out across the bathroom scene
Wild repose and verdant green
Homely, magical peaceful sights
Misty mornings soulful nights
Serenity a dormant swell
It’s all surrounding I hear tell
The history each darkly hour
Of consciousness
And gentle power
Spent there bringing wildness and
A marvellous magic across the land

Back home in my mountainous place
Far away am I this day
Thoughts though of the dreamy seclusion
The old houses charm
And wild profusion
The ancient wildness that surrounds
Mildly mystic
And it’s grounds
Beautifully peaceful
Everyday
Hearing the owls
Never far away.