| July 15th, 2008 | | 9:24am Tuesday 15th July 2008 | | SEAGULLS - ANCIENT AND MODERN
A countryside idyllic scene of fallow
fields being ploughed
With seagulls wheeling overhead, their
raucous squawks so loud.
They're there to catch the worms
unearthed by a tractor as it moves
Slowly up and down the field creating
straight and narrow grooves.
They swoop all round the tractor before
foraging on the ground
As it is their natural habitat or where
food can be found.
And the farmer doesn't mind at all in
fact he's very keen
On preserving such a lovely
countryside idyllic scene.
A seaside town, a fishing fleet coming
home at dawn
Followed by screaming seagulls
disturbing the early morn.
They're there to catch the titbits when
the fish are cleaned and gutted
Thrown overboard by fishermen to stop
their boats being
cluttered.
They swoop
all round the
masts and sails
sometimes
landing on the
deck
And if they're feeling
that way can give a
crewman quite a peck.
But the fishermen don't
mind at all as they are very
keen
On preserving such a
wonderful traditional
seaside scene.
A main road in a market town,
a terrifying sight,
Seagulls hovering
overhead giving car
drivers a fright.
They're there
to feed on
scraps of
food
discarded
by kids from school
Who throw away unwanted lunch and
think feeding gulls is cool.
They swoop all over traffic and scare
pedestrians too
With their screeching, swooping
actions, unbelievable?, no true.
But drivers and pedestrians don't like
the scene at all
On a main road in a market town as it
could be someone's downfall.
But maybe we could train these gulls
and send them into town
And teach them to eat chewing gum
that people have thrown down
I know they wouldn't like it as their
beaks would stick together
Then the would not be able to have a
screeching blether.
But it might just make them leave the
town and go back to the sea
Or to the field ploughed into grooves
where they should really be,
Leaving drivers on a town's main road
and pedestrians too
Feeling so much safer without gulls
blocking their view.
Joyce Crawford, Darlington
THE GALE
The wind plagues the town and
countryside
It is brisk and windy
The air current subdues the brave
Who are wrapped for warmth.
There is a gale coming.
Birds retreat, their wings flying pitiful
against strong air, brisk and blowing.
The few trees bend, in reverence.
The winds are coming.
The winds outraged with breeze.
Then tall structures white and beautiful
stand resilient,
Their arms winding around, beckoning
the wind.
They are a friendly sight,
a welcome to the wind.
The elegant windmills grace the skyline.
Unlike the old mills that ground corn for
bread.
A technical lifetime away.
These new windmills turn the brisk wind
into
electric a new need for the population.
A challenge for the wind and man.
There is a gale a coming and the
windmills
are welcoming the breeze
Susan Proud, Tow Law
REFLECTION
My father walks five times a week up
the colliery road
Thinking as he travels what he might
have to load
The pit head that looms over them
sighs a weary sigh
But folk have seen her often as they go
passing by
The coal dust mingles in the air; it
makes you cough and splutter.
And oft as you go passing by you might
hear an old mutter
Oh drat that dust oh drat that coal you
might hear him say,
But the wealth of dear old Willington is
coal and it is here to stay.
Down the lower end of Willington
there's a
twisting silvery
line
It's the dear old river
Wear and I like to call it
mine
It twists in funny little
shapes as it flows
towards the sea
And I like to think that
someday it will belong to me
It flows through Durham City where the
great cathedral stands
It is a lovely river, the best one in all the
land.
Ellen Hunt
THE WELCOME
Tall and strong in the morning light
Our windmills are a welcome sight
Towering over our village life
They give us pleasure, rarely strife.
Storing precious energy, to keep our
everyday
lives carefree
We can see our windmills as we go
about our lives
Ensuring clean air and sustainability.
When we come home along the road
However weary and heavy the load
Our windmills stand proud, and we
think aloud
What a wonderful welcome - we know
we are home!
Judith Atkinson
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