About the Poem

A reflection on a few golden years of childhood when I can barely remember being aware of the real world, of war and famine and anguish everywhere, because I lived in a dream of freedom and precious naivete.

Memories Of Cornwall

by Carey Lenehan

I miss the times when swallows nested underneath the eaves
And the way the brutal southwest winds bent over all the trees
I miss that sense of mystery, of ages long since gone
The legend and the history in two thousand years of song

In winter- time the foam- clad seas would crash on blackened rocks
And misted rain would cloak the Tor's jagged granite tops
Beneath grey skies of brooding depth I wandered and was free
Yet foolishly desired to know the world so far from me

Life swept me on its tiresome course and moved me far away
It filled my years with problems that still hamper me today
A thousand passing dusks and dawns would make my childhood dim
As a letter read a hundred times eventually wears thin

And as through use my memory of those golden summers fades
At least I can look back and think of carefree youthful days
And know within that somewhere I was blissfully at ease
Even at those trying times when life brings me to my knees

And sometimes when I think of all the things I gave away
When reaching out to find a life that meant I could not stay
I know I never will return to see how much the years
Have changed my childhood wonderland and fulfilled all my fears

My Cornish memories blanket me and little have they frayed
The freedom of a childhood where freedom always stayed
A place where I could grow and stretch and never need to fear
The cruelest moors, the kindest shores, always will be near

I would not wish to recreate the world I lived in then
Instead I will forge on ahead awaiting the time when
I can find another sanctuary where I will again be free
And feel this weight of lifetime woe, eased away from me

And in the time it takes to reach that long awaited day
I'll strive to make the best of all that comes along the way
I'll offer all the love I have to those who need my care
And await the golden summers to return to me somewhere

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4 Visitor Comments

Sylvia

This poem, so beautifully written touched my heart in a special way. I too have left a distant land, these words captured my thoughts of childhood memories. Sylvia

Mike

It says it all! But I'm going 'ome soon!

DARLENE

THIS POEM PULLS ON THE CORDS OF MY HEART. I OFTEN DREAM OF THE DAYS OF YOUTH. IT GIVES ME A GOOD FEELING.

Bryan

Well thought out jus fabulous keep up the good work!

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