The entertainment arranged for the Club’s meeting included
some poetry readings by members. Among the poems were two that had been written by their presenters: Annette Spykerman’s poem ‘The Hooks’ and Rik De Decker’s poem ‘Perfect Gem’. Both members have consented to their poems being presented in this special issue of rettelsweN.
The Hooks
A tribute to JP, by Annette Spykerman
“Hooks to hang friendships on"
So said he — JP
I heard and I listened
Hesitantly emerged from my safe cocoon
A lifetime sheltered in anonymity.
To be brave can be lonely.
I now watch the gathering of lives
Who had known their peaks and their valleys;
Now sharing their harvest of families and journeys,
Feasting on memories,
Stories within stories...
A world of ongoing discovery for me;
Opportunities to embrace, or not...
These are the hooks
The hooks to hang friendships on
As we walk on mountains or along green belts
Adventures at times, sharing transport, experiences and laughter.
Humility also, as we surrender to the unknown,
Uninvited challenges to test us time and again.
Courage and effort our daily mantra; dependence too...
But the hooks of solidarity will carry us through.
So dear friends, welcome each new dawn,
A day you have never seen before,
Another blank canvas to colour with moments of brightness,
Birdsong and music,
Or stillness to soothe the soul.
And always there are the hooks
The hooks of friendship to carry us through.
Perfect Gem
Rik De Decker
I found a
diamond in the dust
- a blue-white –
and thought I must
cut it just right
to help it catch
the morning light.
I had in mind
a special kind
of perfectly polished
fabulously facetted
stunning stone...
But then I found
things went wrong way round:
it cut my mind -
and changed my view
to something new.
***
Its light relit a life I knew I'd known
But somehow lost as time had flown.
I now delight in its brilliance bright –
This magic, mesmerising, startling stone
