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(This poetry has not been altered from the original to comply with political correctness, that pompous scourge of the modern age)
Dover Cliffs
On these
white cliffs, that calm above the flood
Uplift their shadowy heads, and at their feet
Scarce hear the surge that has for ages beat,
Sure many a lonely wanderer has stood;
And while the distant murmur met his ear,
And o'er the distant billows the still eve
Sailed slow, has thought of all his heart must leave
To-morrow; of the friends he loved most dear;
Of social scenes from which he wept to part.
But if, like me, he knew how fruitless all
The thoughts that would full fain the past recall;
Soon would he quell the risings of his heart,
And brave the wild winds and unhearing tide,
The world his country, and his God his guide,
William Lisle Bowles 1762 - 1850
Ye Mariners of England
Ye Mariners of England
That guard our native seas,
Whose flag has braved, a thousand years,
The battle and the breeze,
Your glorious standard launch again
To match another foe:
And sweep through the deep,
While the stormy winds do blow;
While the battle rages loud and long
And the stormy winds do blow.
The spirits of your fathers
Shall start from every wave -
For the deck it was their field of flame
And Ocean was their grave.
Where Blake and mighty Nelson fell
Your manly hearts shall glow,
As ye sweep through the deep,
While the stormy winds do blow;
While the battle rages loud and long
And the stormy winds do blow.
Britannia needs no bulwarks,
No towers along the steep;
Her march is o'er the mountain waves,
Her home is on the deep.
With thunders from her native oak
She quells the floods below -
As they roar on the shore,
When the stormy winds do blow;
When the battle rages loud and long,
And the stormy winds do blow.
The meteor flag of England
Shall yet terrific burn;
Till danger's troubled night depart
And the star of peace return;
Then, then, ye ocean warriors!
Our song and feast shall flow
To the fame of your name,
When the storm has ceased to blow;
When the fiery fight is heard no more,
And the storm has ceased to blow.
Thomas Campbell 1777 - 1844
England
Your
land and my land,
Your England and mine,
A
mother calls her sons where’ere the sun doth shine.
Glory
be with her
And
keep her name divine.
Your
land and my land,
Your England and mine.
Author unknown to me yet
The Secret People
Smile at us, pay
us, pass us; but do not quite forget;
For we are the people of England that never have spoken yet.
There is many a fat farmer that drinks less cheerfully;
There is many a free French peasant who is richer and sadder than we.
There are no folk in the whole world so helpless or so wise.
There is hunger in our bellies, there is laughter in our eyes;
You laugh at us and love us, both mugs and eyes are wet:
Only you do not know us. For we have not spoken yet.
The fine French kings came over in a
flutter of flags and dames.
We liked their smiles and battles, but we never could say their names.
The blood ran red to Bosworth and the high French lords went down;
There was naught but a naked people under a naked crown.
And the eyes of the King's Servants turned terribly every way,
And the gold of the King's Servants rose higher every day.
They burnt the homes of the shaven men, that had been quaint and kind,
Till there was no bed in a monk's house, nor food that man could find.
The inns of God where no man paid, that were the wall of the weak.
The King's Servants ate them all. And still we did not speak.
And the face of the King's Servants
grew greater than the King:
He tricked them, and they trapped him, and stood round him in a ring.
The new grave lords closed round him, that had eaten the abbey's fruits,
And the men of the new religion, with their bibles in their boots,
We saw their shoulders moving, to menace or discuss,
And some were pure and some were vile; but none took heed of us.
We saw the King as they killed him, and his face was proud and pale;
And a few men talked of freedom, while England talked of ale.
A war that we understood not came
over the world and woke
Americans, Frenchmen, Irish; but we knew not the things they spoke.
They talked about rights and nature and peace and the people's reign:
And the squires, our masters, bade us fight; and scorned us never again.
Weak if we be for ever, could none condemn us then;
Men called us serfs and drudges; men knew that we were men.
In foam and flame at Trafalgar, on Albuera plains,
We did and died like lions, to keep ourselves in chains,
We lay in living ruins; firing and fearing not
The strange fierce face of the Frenchmen who knew for what they fought,
And the man who seemed to be more than a man we strained against and broke;
And we broke our own rights with him. And still we never spoke.
Our patch of glory ended; we never
heard guns again.
But the squire seemed struck in the saddle; he was foolish, as if in pain,
He leaned on a staggering lawyer, he clutched a cringing Jew,
He was stricken; it may be, after all, he was stricken at Waterloo.
Or perhaps the shades of the shaven men, whose spoil is in his house,
Come back in shining shapes at last to spoil his last carouse:
We only know the last sad squires rode slowly towards the sea,
And a new people takes the land: and still it is not we.
They have given us into the hand of
new unhappy lords,
Lords without anger or honour, who dare not carry their swords.
They fight by shuffling papers; they have bright dead alien eyes;
They look at our labour and laughter as a tired man looks at flies.
And the load of their loveless pity is worse than the ancient wrongs,
Their doors are shut in the evening; and they know no songs.
We hear men speaking for us of new
laws strong and sweet,
Yet is there no man speaketh as we speak in the street.
It may be we shall rise the last as Frenchmen rose the first,
Our wrath come after Russia's wrath and our wrath be the worst.
It may be we are meant to mark with our riot and our rest
God's scorn for all men governing. It may be beer is best.
But we are the people of England; and we have not spoken yet.
Smile at us, pay us, pass us. But do not quite forget.
GK Chesterton - 1874-1936
Happy is England!
Happy is England! I could be content
To see no other verdure than its own;
To feel no other breezes than are blown
Through its tall woods with high romances blent:
Yet do I sometimes feel a languishment
For skies Italian, and an inward groan
To sit upon an Alp as on a throne,
And half forget what world or worldling meant.
Happy is England, sweet her artless daughters;
Enough their simple loveliness for me,
Enough their whitest arms in silence clinging:
Yet do I often warmly burn to see
Beauties of deeper glance, and hear their singing,
And float with them about the summer waters.
John Keats (1795–1821).
England My Lionheart
Oh England My
Lionheart,
I'm in your garden fading fast in your arms
The soldiers soften, the war is over
The air-raid shelters are blooming clover,
Flapping umbrellas fill the lanes
My London Bridge in rain again.
Oh England My Lionheart
Peter Pan steals the kids in Kensington Park
You read me Shakespeare on the Rolling Thames,
That old River Post that never, ever ends
Our Thumping hearts hold the Ravens in,
And keep the tower from tumbling
Chorus:
Oh England My Lionheart
I don't want to go
Oh England My Lionheart
Dropped from my Black Spitfire to my funeral barge,
Give me one kiss in the apple blossom,
Give me one wish and I'd be wassailing
In the orchard my English Rose,
Or with my shepherd who'll bring me home
Chorus:
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If you would like a pet portrait painting of your pet and your pet dog or cat, or indeed any animal, has sadly died so it is too late to take any clear photos I will willingly look at your photo and let you know if it is clear enough. I love my pet portrait work, but one of the saddest aspects is where an old pet has died and the owner has no clear photo to remember their friend by, or, indeed, to create a pet portrait memorial to their lost one. So take those photos now, even if you do not yet decide on a pet portrait painting of your pet.
The happiest aspect of my work is when my clients have received their pet portrait paintings and telephoned or written to let me know how delighted they are in spite of the tears over their lost friend. I have so many lovely letters telling me how the portrait painting of their pet is now taking pride of place in their home, and how they feel their pet's spirit is still with them whenever they gaze at the painting. So do not hesitate. Order your pet portrait painting today. You will be so glad you did.
Pet dogs, cats, animals or any child or adult can be painted into the scene or pet portrait, even if they were not in that particular photo. Many things are possible. If you have a special request, just ask. If it is possible it can be done.
If you are thinking of buying a present for a family member or a friend, a pet portrait of their pet dog or cat, or any pet animal, is a wonderful present for a pet lover. If their pet has died, a pet painting of their lost dog or cat makes a wonderful memorial and tribute to the deceased pet.
Remember, if you want a really unusual and special gift for a pet or animal lover for Christmas, Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Easter, Anniversaries, Retirements, Presentations or any other celebration, a pet portrait painting of a beloved pet is always a unique and very welcome gift. Whether it is a dog portrait, cat painting, horse painting, wild animal painting, bird painting, child or adult human portrait or a painting of someone's home and garden, it will bring delight and surprise to the recipient.
So, if you have no CLEAR photos, get clicking and send your favourite photo to me for that dog painting, cat painting, animal painting, or landscape painting. You will be delighted with the result.
We should all value our historical houses be they palaces, farmhouses or cottages, they are our links to our past, but sadly, many are being allowed to deteriorate beyond any repair. It would be a poorer world with no physical reminders of our ancestor’s presence. Whenever, I get the opportunity I am out painting and capturing little corners of this England onto canvas or watercolour paper.
I also believe that there should have much tougher laws against the pollution of our rivers and fields, and stricter laws to protect pressured wild animals and green spaces. Imagine a world with only one creature, the human being. What a dreadful place that would be. We must all do our best to alleviate some of the harm man has done to this world and its animal inhabitants. One way is to enforce planning controls for new human dwellings, office blocks and factories that are sympathetic to the natural environment.
The welfare of this Earth's wild creatures is something I feel very passionately about. We have done so much harm to these fellow residents of our planet, who, of course, have as much right to exist as humanity. Wild animals, including the smallest insect have no less right to live out their natural lifespan as ourselves. I still see wild Robins, Geese, Mallards, Moor Hens, Jackdaws, Buzzards, Kestrels, and many other birds, assorted Dragonflies including the large Emperor Dragonflies, assorted butterflies, Wasp Beetles, Flower Beetles, Field Voles, mice, insects, birds, newts, frogs, toads, hares, deers, foxes and many other wild animals but for how much longer if we go on building over their habitats?
We should not attempt to turn all their wild habitats into pretty parks for just our enjoyment. Nature is wild and beautiful in its wildness. Wild animals need to be wild and free and people can find enjoyment in this too.
We cannot turn this, still beautiful, Earth into a controlled, barren environment for the convenience of just one of this world's creatures, ourselves. We can help these animals in many ways, such as not mowing every piece of wild meadow near our towns. No voles, hawks or butterflies can exist on a lawn. These animals need the shelter of tall grasses to hide in and to feed from. Where there are no hiding places, there are no wild creatures. Where the grass is mown no wild flowers can flourish. However, with a little goodwill on our part it is amazing how quickly Mother Nature heals her wounds.
I remember my childhood wandering the countryside and lanes of Devon; with so much wildlife, so many birds and wild creatures and leafy field margins and sunken lanes. Too many creatures are being squeezed out of existence by our constant encroaching onto their home territories. This cannot go on or England will land up as just an offshore concrete car park of the EU.
In the evenings we saw owls gliding silently over the darkening fields. One time, while I was walking my pet dog, I passed under an old tree and looked up. Sitting silently on a branch overhanging the path I was on, was a Barn Owl. He never made a sound, just moved his head around to watch me as I went on my way. It is a long time since I saw a wild owl. The last one I saw was a Little Owl sitting on his usual perch in an old tree. The tree is no more. It was destroyed when the land was built on. Do builders or their bosses EVER consider the wild creatures whose homes they are destroying?!!
In 2011, Hares too, seem much more elusive than even six years before. We used to regularly watch these large rabbit-like creatures loping over the fields nearby. I know the habitat of these Hares was built over but I do not know where any of the creatures were dispersed to. It is so wrong. This planet is NOT just ours and I would not want to live in a land where no places were left untouched for wild creatures to flourish in.
Hedgehogs are another little creature, which was commonplace up until about ten years ago. Practically every child in town or countryside had seen a hedgehog. Not now. In the winter 2010-2011, I fed a young hedgehog for many weeks in my garden, trying to feed him up so he could hibernate in safety. This was the first live hedgehog I had seen for about five years. He eventually stopped coming for his evening meal of cat food and drink of water. I hope he went into hibernation.
The fields nearby were full of hedgehogs at dusk. You could see the lovely little animals dotted about all over the fields but no more. I hope there are still some left besides the one who came to my garden. I am hopeful though. As I said, I had not seen a hedgehog in my garden for about five years. Here's hoping this is the start of many more sightings of them as their numbers build up again.
Birds, which I never saw about five years ago in my area, were Buzzards. Now there are so many of them hardly a day goes by without seeing at least two. Now I often see them wheeling, gliding and stooping in the fields nearby. This must mean that there are enough small animals such as field voles, to sustain them.
There are quite a few Herons in my home area. You see them flying heavily across the skies, sometimes being mobbed by smaller birds. In fact, one Heron was spotted in my garden so I am beginning to think that my missing pet Goldfish Fred was taken from our garden pond by one of these birds.
Another creature, which is comparatively new to my area, is the Harlequin Ladybird. I first spotted one in 2008. The Harlequin Ladybirds (or Ladybugs) arrived in England from France, having spread there from Asia. They pose a real threat to all our native Ladybird species and, in fact, our Two Spotted Ladybird is in fast decline. Harlequins are bigger than our native species. Their colours are varied from red to orange and they tend to have larger spots of black on them and look brasher than our native Ladybird. Harlequins eat our native Ladybirds and other insects and there is a survey ongoing to see what their spread in the UK is so far. The Harlequin appears to spread at about 60 miles per year so there must be billions here now. Huge numbers of them have been found crammed into tiny spaces. When they feel threatened they emit an obnoxious chemical that smells rather like nail polish and marks any surface it touches, so it is not pleasant to find them inside your home.
Remember the warm days of summer as, during the cold days of winter, you gaze at your painting of your sunny garden and home.
Pet Prints, Dog Prints, Animal Prints, Cat Prints, Horse Prints, Wildlife and Landscape Prints from Pet Portraits or Landscape Paintings and A5 Glossy Greeting Cards from Pet Paintings by Isabel Clark may be found on www.VillageArt.co.uk website.
All images on this site are in tangible form and are fully copyrighted. None of them may not be reproduced or used in any form or any manner, or displayed on any website or any other forum without the express written consent of the owner, Isabel Clark BA (Hons) Fine Art.
