Tas
Copyright © 2017 David Tas.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.
All proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to
The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, charity number 1095197.
Text © David Tas 2014
Images © Charles Penny 2014
Cover © Charles Penny 2014 after Winifred Nicholson
Edited by Nick Williams
ISBN: 978-1-4834-6430-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4834-6429-9 (e)
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 04/03/2017
For Phil
my muse
my love
my life
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Early Poems
Quinta
Steyning Grammar School 1953-1959
Lindfield High Street
In Winter
Sunday Afternoons
Lindfield Fair
Sunbeams
Bognor Bank Holiday
Southdown
Wiston Springs
On Leaving Home
Love Game
Breakfasts
Christmas Eve – Glasgow 1965
The Marriage Years
9th July 1966
The Wedding Day
Honeymoon Legs
If
Valentine 1995
Wordsong
Thoughts
Molecule Me
Brahm’s Requiem – Ardingly College
Annie Holman
Valentine 1998
Spring in Brandon
The Salmon Fishers of Brandon
Brandon
The Hill
Valentine 1999
Near Madrid
New Mexico
Lamplight
The Lizard
Valentine 2000
Trees
Morning Milking
The Spring
Hoeing the Beet
Valentine 2001
The Shepherd
Seasons
The Month of May
For Luci’s Birthday
Valentine 2002
In Summer
A Letter from a Father to his Daughters
The Labourer
The Evergreen Oak
Alicante to Barcelona (Saint Saens)
For Karen
Valentine 2004
The First Frost
Dawn
The Great Storm
Valentine 2005
Land Tide
The Fairy Ring
Winter
Warmth
Uploders
Valentine 2007
Christmas Eve
For Phil on New Year’s Day
Prayer Flags
The Foreshore – Dungeness
Dreams
Valentine 2010
Cancer Ward – December 2010
The Wreck of the Immacolata
Whitefriars Glass
Valentine 2012
Exeter Cathedral
On Going Deaf
At The Royal Marsden – Bud Flanagan West Ward
Bud Flanagan Outpatients at The Royal Marsden Hospital
Coming Home
Candlelight
Easter Card with a Blue Gate
On Parting
On Parting
Annie’s Clock
Youghal Bay
Sweet Breath of Death
Family Man
The Tide
Footprints in the Snow
Solace
Ashes
Fermoyle Strand
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Nick Williams for his guidance and hard work in compiling this book. I am indebted also to Charles Penny for his artwork, to Nic Beale for his helpful advice and to my family for their continuing love and support.
Preface
This is a story of a great love told through poetry.
My wife Philomena, known to everyone as Phil, was born on 16th December 1942 in the ancient town of Youghal, County Cork. One of seven children she had a happy childhood and at the age of 18 made the big decision to travel to London to train as a State Registered Nurse.
After graduation she went to Glasgow to study midwifery and there we met at a party in the nurses’ quarters. It was love at first sight and we were inseparable for the next 49 years until her death on 25th September 2013.
The diagnosis of Lymphoma in 1998 followed by 15 years of treatment and care at The Royal Marsden Hospital strengthened our relationship even more.
I had written poetry from
