My Old Mum (she was never that)

Twenty years between us
My old mum and me.
And she was only twenty 
When she sat me on her knee.

She filled my mind with sunshine
And left me in no doubt.
That what was hers was mine
And she would do without.

My auntie said she'd rather her four
Than just the one of me
But my mother wouldn't have swapped her
For all of China's tea.

She said she'd take her last crumb

And put it on my tongue.
I never saw the time go by
She always seemed so young.

"What's it like having a forty year old son?"
I asked her that day.
"What's it like having a sixty year old mum?"
I was surprised to hear her say.

She danced on tables at parties
And we were all in her gang.
She taught us where the heart is
And everybody sang.

 © 2012 S Evans All Rights Reserved

Edinburgh Toon

This one came easy and is a welcome addition to the previous attempts to deal with sorrow and pain. We were leaving Edinburgh for a holiday in Italy and I noticed the airport had printed on their walls the collected complimentary thoughts of the great and the good. It got me thinking, something I have said over and over, that no matter which delightful bit of the world I have travelled to I am always pleased to come home to Edinburgh.




EDINBURGH TOON


Every beautiful place I've ever been
Every wondrous sight I've ever seen
Tolkein's fantasy-scapes inside of dreams
Pyramids of hope, beyond our means.
Then I go on home to auld Edinburgh Town
An' it's like when your wife dons her favourite gown 
Or when the sun comes out and shrivels a frown.
It's like sitting in your favourite chair

Like sliding a comb through silky hair.
Auld Reekie nae mare I'll have it said
Nor imposter of the north in its stead
The place on earth l choose to be
The place in repose that will cover me.
Lucky are those who call it hame
Privileged are they who feel the same.

 © 2012 S Evans All Rights Reserved