MEL'S VERSE

MEL’S VERSE

Part 4 - Of a Personal/Family Nature

 

 

Though poetry in modern times

Must be, it seems, in prose,

It can't replace the verse that rhymes

And with a metre flows.

 

It's true that metred rhyme alone

Provides no guarantee

That efforts better than my own

Are really poetry.

 

And so dear reader you will see,

My words good, bad or worse

Are never claimed as poetry,

I merely call them verse.

 

 

 

CONTENTS

 

Page 1                         Contents

 

Page 2             Preface and Introduction by Rector Melville Anglican Church, 1986.

 

Pages 3            Index  to Verse of a Personal/Family Nature.

 

Pages 1-12      Verse for of Personal/Family nature.

 

 

 

PREFACE

 

This collection of my verse has accumulated over a number of years. Initially, short verse was written for inclusion in intercessions used in the Melville Anglican Church and eventually covered the whole of the 3 year cycle of readings. Those verses are included in the "Spiritual" section.

Other sections cover "Verse in a Lighter Vein" and "Verse of a General Wide Range of Subjects"

 

This  section covers verse of a Personal/Family Nature.

 

It should be noted that no pretence of poetry is made, only an honest attempt at rhyme and metre (see page 147). I have no doubt that much is somewhat trite, but hopefully some is less so.

 

Some verse was written for publication in the Australian Rose Annual and subsequently "A Rose Wish" was included in the book by Neville Passmore, Chrissy Morrissy and Al Kemp entitled "Roses WA".

 

A few years ago, I created a website with the aim of learning HTML coding and used my verse as subject matter. As a consequence, the site is now part of a USA based Rhyme and Metre web ring. Several verses now appear in different Christian websites. I also approved the use of a verse in a NZ garden nursery catalogue.

 

The writing of the verse has been of considerable therapeutic value and was largely done for my own benefit, in the same way some people might devote themselves to solving crossword puzzles.

 

Mel Austin

 

INTRODUCTION (to intercessional verse)

 

The Parish of Holy Cross Melville, Perth has been greatly blessed with many gifts and as

their Rector I rejoice. Mel Austin who is a Pastoral Assistant has made it his custom to

include a verse each Sunday based on the Sunday readings. These verses have been very

helpful and meaningful to many in the congregation and we encouraged him to put them

in the form of a book of verse. These poems accompanied by the scriptural reading would

make good reading for daily prayer or meditation.

 

We hope that there will be a demand for this little booklet.

 

Peter Thompson,  Rector.  1986,

Holy Cross, Melville, Perth.

 

PERSONAL INDEX

 

22nd Wedding Anniversary (modified 1982 version) (P)

11

36th Anniversary (P)

5

60th Birthday/ 70th Birthday/ Farewell to Judith                    8

A Golden Wedding (P)

3

Au Revoir Mum (P)

10

Margie & Tom 40th Anniv (P)

4

Mothers Day/70th (P)

7

My Valentine (P)

2

Patricia 51st Wedding Anniversary

12

Patricia 70th Birthday

11

Patricia 71st Birthday (P)

11

Patricia for Mothers' Day (P)

10

Patricia Golden Wedding

12

Pearl Wedding

5

Silver Wedding (P)

1

To Mum (P)

6

To Patricia (P)

2

To Patricia At 60 (P)

9

To Patricia at 65 (P)

9

To Patricia on 47th Wedding Anniversary (P)

11

To Patricia With Thanks (P)

9

 On 54th Wedding Anniversary                                                            12     

 On 55th Wedding Anniversary                                                            12

 Mothers’ Day 2014                                                                   13

 Mothers’ Day 2015                                                                   13     

 Patricia 77th Birthday (P)                                                           13

 

 

 

 

 

 

TO MY WIFE PATRICIA ON OUR SILVER WEDDING

 

 

One score and five years come and flown

The race long since begun

They vanish lost like four winds blown,

When did we start to run?

 

How young we were and full of pride

As we our vows did take,

When you became my lovely bride

What then our dreams could shake?

 

The race of life 's the hardest one,

Though rosebeds we may see,

Not only flowers in the sun

But thorns endured must be.

 

We learned to share both joys and tears

With sad times and with fun

Through times of confidence and fears,

The birth of daughter, son.

 

Love's early flames may dim to sight

Yet warmth does not depart,

They change to burning embers bright

With fuel from the heart.

 

And now a silver wedding day

With beauty always there,

For silver's tarnish kept at bay

Does need but love and care.

 

Our love still grows at faster pace

O'er hurdles should they come,

As we speed on in golden race

Already halfway won.

 

1
MY VALENTINE

 

You are the only love of mine

Through all life's joy and tears

You are my special Valentine

And have been down the years.

 

 

 

TO PATRICIA

 

What method is there I can use,

The words all seem too few,

Which ones are suitable to use

To say that I love you?

 

Suppose I say that love 's a rose

That sparkles in the dew

Which to the world its beauty shows,

But what in that is new?

 

Yet we're not new, alas that's true

We're not first season's bloom

But roots are deep, in love they grew

Through sunshine and through gloom.

 

We know that midst the colours bright

And perfume in the air

Some thorns are hidden out of sight

Which we sometimes must bear.

 

We've had our seasons good and bad

We've had our share of rain

But for your love I would be glad

To do it all again.

 

Of growing old we need not fear

If we but prune dead wood

For then our love will shoot each year

And bloom the way it should.

 

And so my dear, I still would say

Our love is like a rose,

Let's tend our rose with care each day

So it forever grows.

 

2

 

 

 

 

A GOLDEN WEDDING

(To Mum and Dad)

 

 

For fifty years have they been wed

These ones we hold so dear,

It's fifty years since they both said

Their vows for all to hear.

 

Full fifty years as man and wife,

(How time does slip away),

And now to crown their married life

A Golden Wedding day.

 

Their love continued all those years

In times of peace and war.

Through times of laughter and of tears

That love grew more and more.

 

Their principles, the life they lead,

Their love for fam-ily

Are lessons which we all might heed

No finer could there be.

 

A Golden Anniversary

These two now celebrate,

What gold in half a century

Did they accumulate?

 

They are not rich in worldly eyes,

Yet wealth sets them apart,

It is in love that their wealth lies

Their gold is in each heart.

 

This marriage blessed so long ago

May God still bless we pray

And may their love for ever grow

Each joyful, golden day.

 

 

3

 

 

TO MARGIE and TOM on 40th Wedding Anniversary

 

 

It's forty years since you were wed

To live as man and wife

It's two score years since you both said

With you I'll share my life.

 

In this sad world of ceaseless change

Things come and go so fast

Commitment now to some is strange

And nought appears to last.

 

But we have hope when folk like you

Can show for all to see

There is a love that lasts, that's true,

There is stability.

 

Though short the while our paths did cross

We cannot have regret

For my dear friends how sad the loss

If we had never met.

 

These are the words which we would say,

Your friends on distant shore,

God bless and keep you this great day

And give you many more.

 

 

A FAREWELL

 

Though sad to part, I'm glad to know

I do not lose a friend

For we in Christ together go

As through this life we wend.

 

 

4

 

 

PEARL WEDDING

 

This pearl has grown for 30 years

Through good times and through bad

It's made of laughter and of tears

And all the joy we've had.

 

Upon a base of love it grew

A layer ev'ry day

To make a gem both bright and new

Though we are somewhat grey.

 

And as we gaze upon its sheen

Its lustrous beauty see,

We see reflected all that's been

And hope for what's to be.

 

Let's keep this priceless pearl we share,

This gift that's yours and mine,

Forever young through loving care

So it will always shine.

 

 

36th ANNIVERSARY

 

It's thirty years and six today

Since each we said "I do"

But still I struggle to convey

The love I have for you.

 

I have not been your shining knight,

I wish that it were so,

No dragons have I put to flight

My faults you too well know.

 

Yet still you're here to hold my hand

My friend, my love, my wife

My dear I hope you understand

I'm glad you share my life.

 

5

 

 

 

TO MUM

 

Because we do not always say

What thoughts we have of you,

Dear Mother on this special day

We'll mention one or two.

 

Life's rocky road we each must wend

But you are ever there

To dry a tear, a hand to lend

A mum beyond compare.

 

The years have come and they have flown

Like falling leaves, I'm sure,

Which on the winds of time are blown

And then are seen no more.

 

You've had your happiness and fears

Known times of war and peace

A world of laughter and of tears

Where changes never cease.

 

Eighty eight years, Mum, since you came

This changing world to share;

Thank God some things still stay the same -

A mother's love and care.

 

Remembering, we think of Dad

Who shares with you our heart

But thinking back we're glad not sad

From us he'll ne'er depart.

 

We thank you Mum for being you

For all the things you've done

For love you gave us and still do,

And will in years to come.

 

So happy birthday Mother dear

We hope you know it's true

The love you give each selfless year

Is given back to you.

 

6

 

 

MOTHERS DAY

 

You are my own and darling wife

A loving mother too

I'm grateful that you share my life

My dear I do love you.

--------------------------------------

This is our special wish for you

Dear Mum on mothers day

May all your skies be clear and blue

No storm clouds pass your way

 

Because we love you Mother dear

We pray that love and peace

Not just today, each day each year

For you will never cease.

----------------------------------------

Of all God's bounty from above

There's none that can compare

With that great gift, Mum, of your love

To know you always care.

 

Through all the good times and the bad

On you I can depend

I feel so lucky to have had

Each parent as a friend.

 

70th

 

To Father on your birthday

It's seventy not out

While pitch was often bumpy

Your bat was straight throughout

 

Now settled for a cent'ry

In this tough game of life

Examples set so ably

By you and your dear wife.

 

7

60th BIRTHDAY

 

Our birthdays come and then they go

Like petals fade away

So show us Joan how we may grow

As young as you each day.

 

For sixty birthdays I'll be bound

Most surely can't be so

It's twenty birthdays three times round

For this young Joan we know.

 

 

70th BIRTHDAY

 

To Father on your birthday

It's seventy not out

While pitch was often bumpy

Your bat was straight throughout.

 

Now settled for a cent'ry

In this tough game of life

Examples set so ably

By you and your dear wife.

 

 

Farewell To Judith Anne and Norman

 

Next stop Van Diemen's Land

You pioneers so bold,

It's verdant and it's grand

But feet might well get cold.

 

So take these socks with you,

With love and with our prayer,

That joy and peace so true

Are waiting for you there.

 

 

8

 

 

 

 

 

TO PATRICIA AT 60

 

My wish upon your birthday dear,

Is happiness for you,

Not just today, not just this year,

But for your whole life through.

 

I've loved you since your were sixteen,

It seems but yesterday:

Where have the years gone in between,

When did our hair turn grey?

 

Though storms assailed our ship of life,

We've weathered the odd gale,

I'm blessed to have you as my wife

As we still onward sail.

 

At sixty now, you're still to me

The girl who charmed me so,

For when a special smile I see,

I'm with you years ago.

 

TO PATRICIA WITH THANKS

 

When joy and laughter we both share

Thankyou dear for being there.

 

In times of tears and black despair

Thankyou dear for being there.

 

Though stressful storms may rent the air

Thankyou dear for being there.

 

For all the ways you show you care

Thankyou dear for being there.

 

 

9
AU REVOIR MUM

 

A better Mum was never had,

We love and so miss you;

But reunited now with Dad,

We're happy for you too.

 

 

PATRICIA for MOTHERS' DAY

 

I wish to say Patricia dear,

Our children's loving Mum,

I love you more each passing year

And will for those to come.

 

I may not show you all the time

My love for you is real,

And so I've tried in this small rhyme

To tell you how I feel.

 

 

 

TO PATRICIA on 65th Birthday

 

You're sixtyfive, dear Pat, today

And as the years roll past

I love you more than words can say,

My first love and my last.

 

My birthday wish for you my dear,

Is may you always know

That you are loved each passing year

And ever will be so.

 

 

TO PATRICIA on 47th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

 

Now forty seven years have fled

Since you became my bride,

With confidence we looked ahead

We youngsters side by side.

 

We've had our joy and our distress

And always you've been there.

In this poor verse may I express,

With love, how much I care.

10

22nd WEDDING ANNIVERSARY (1982 modified version )

 

It's  two and twenty years today,

Which seems somehow so far away,

When we as youngsters vowed we'd share

All life's happiness, tears and care.

 

Though dreams may vanish in thin air,

For knights on chargers are so rare,

There is one thing that you should know;

My love for you will deeper grow.

 

PATRICIA 70th BIRTHDAY

 

Patricia dear, my wish for you

On this your special day,

Is may  your skies  all now be blue

And never turn to grey.

 

It's three score years and ten you've seen,

Yet beauty blossoms still;

I loved you when you were sixteen

And love you always will.

 

And so a Happy Birthday dear

With many more to come,

For  you my love have had no peer

As Wife as Nan as Mum.

 

TO PATRICIA on 71st BIRTHDAY

 

I've loved you since you were sixteen

For five and fifty years,

And all that time with me you've been

Through laughter and through tears.

 

So Happy Birthday Pat my dear,

You mean the world to me,

Through passing of each year by year,

A young girl still I see.

11
TO PATRICIA on GOLDEN WEDDING

 

It’s fifty years since we were wed,

Life’s race had scarce begun,

When we our vows together said

And two became as one.

 

You looked so lovely dressed in white

A vision to behold,

We pledged our love with dreams as bright

As our new bands of gold.

 

Now you’re a Mum and Nana too,

My steadfast friend and wife.

Without you dear, what would I do

My Pat, my love, my life?

 

We’ve had some fun while on our run,

Struck hurdles quite a few,

But we’re not done though Gold we’ve won

For more heats start anew.

 

Once more upon the starting line,

A new prize now the aim;

In ten short years Patricia mine

A Diamond we’ll claim.

 

TO PATRICIA on 51st WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

 

Fifty one years we've hurtled through

While we’ve been man and wife.

For this sentence, what did you do?

It's more than jail for life.

 

I have no medal I can give

For all your loving care,

But just my love and, while I live,

For you, I'll e'er be there.        

 

 

On 54th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

 

The score's none out for fifty four

Since we set out to bat,

Let's keep on hitting many more,

Our team of Mel and Pat.

12

 

MOTHERS' DAY 2014

 

For all you’ve done dear, and still do,

As mother of our brood,

All my true love I give to you

With heartfelt gratitude.

 

To PATRICIA on 55th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

 

Through Silver, Ruby and through Gold

You've watched with me the years unfold,

And now it's five and fifty years

We've shared together smiles and tears.

To you in this our Em'rald year

My love and thanks I give my dear.

 

 

MOTHERS' DAY 2015

 

To dearest Pat on Mothers’ Day

My love and thanks sincere,

I need you more than I can say

Each year by passing year.

 

 

PATRICIA 77th BIRTHDAY

 

What, all the sevens do I hear?

That surely cannot be,

So Happy Birthday Pat my dear

You’re sweet sixteen to me.

Bingo

 

 

 

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