Ruby Wedding Ode

For forty years my Susie has pulled me from the mire

Yet when she first encountered me, I filled her heart with ire!

My cheeky sense of humour fell on stony ground

And made her really happy when I was not around!

“An obnoxious little Irishman” is what she told her friends

And there was really nothing I could do to make amends

I tried to make her like me but it was to no avail

Apparently she felt that I was quite beyond the pale!

Then one day she weakened and I took her for a drink

And the fact that she enjoyed it gave her cause to think!

“Maybe he’s not quite as bad as I first believed”.

And at the Christmas party she liked what she received!

Finally she let me drive her home, one day

And “the rest is history”, as the romantic novels say!

Since then she’s been my conscience, my armour and my pride

A woman I’ve been proud to call my lover and my bride!

We’ve been together forty years and I hope there’ll be

Many years before us, which we’ll face with glee.

Martha Shrimpton

I’ve known this famous actress for almost all her life

And attended every play I can, with my loving wife.

I’ve seen her doing plays in church and at Dream Factory

And saw her first performance when she was almost three!

There’s something in her acting that’s vibrant, full of joy

With undiluted passion that’s never, ever coy!

To say she is dynamic is to understate the case

Full of poise and elegance but with a cheeky face!

All the plays she’s written have been full of wit and charm

A mix of fun and pathos, laughter and alarm!

She is a fine musician and a singer of repute

And, if you give her half a chance, she’ll even play the lute!

She’s wowing all the critics and we’ll just have to see

How long it takes producers to get her on TV!

I think I’ve nearly said it all. There isn’t much to add.

Though she’s got a gorgeous sister and a super Mum and Dad !

Depression

Depression is a bitter state
Where all the world seems grey as slate.
Nothing seems to be quite fair
And there's no pleasure anywhere!

In depression everything seems wrong
You wait and troubles come along.
You cannot think of any pleasure
With bitterness beyond all measure!

Yet in your heart you know it's true 
Your God is in the trench with you.
If you can think of one good thing
What relief your Lord can bring.

It's hard but think of one kind word
That through your blackness you have heard.
Or someone you know who cares for you
Even when you're feeling blue.

Think of a song that lifts your soul
And sing it till your heart feels whole.
Music soothes the breast they say
It lifts my spirit anyway!

If I can laugh or crack a joke
I can lift depression's yoke.
And very soon I start to see 
Some blessing that's been given me.

I've so much to be thankful for
I forget the things that I abhor.
And so depression disappears
And hopefully it's gone for years.

It sounds so simple put like this,
And if it were, it would be bliss!
I know how hard it is to do
Whenever you are feeling blue!

But try to sing that song you know
And maybe all your pain will go.
Sing it out with all your heart
For of your cure it may be part!

The Mask

Would that I could be the face I like the world to see

A charming and a kindly soul, full of bonhomie.

I know I am a charlatan, a fraudster and a sham

I really wish I wasn’t, but still I know I am

Of course my wife can read me, like an open book

And when I am outrageous I get that famous “look”!

There may be faults I won’t admit, and nothing ever shows

But this I know for certain, there is one who knows!

Thank God that, though He knows my sins, and cannot condone,

Still I know He loves me and claims me for His own.