Winter – what do you see?

I’m looking out of the window in a pale winter light, brightening a few remaining leaves on trees outside, modest Christmas leftovers.

Beside me, on my iPhone, are dozens of angry, frightened or frustrated messages – terrorists, Aleppo, treatment of Christians in Pakistan, beggars in our city centre, queues at Junction 12 on the M5, lack of broadband at home, numbers of staff in our prisons, health benefits or transport issues. There’s rarely a shortage of things that need to be improved.

But there is another way of looking at life. I’ve just re-read a poem its author, Jenny Lakin, read beside me recently at a dementia poetry group in Quedgeley Library. The poem describes the thoughts of a young daughter and her mother (the author) as they walk home from school. Today is a good moment for this poem:

Winter – what do you see?

I see grey, heavy clouds in dark dismal skies
She sees dragons chasing giants with big goggly eyes;
I see wet, endless pavements all dull and the same
She sees puddles to splash in, play hopscotch and games;
I see traffic crawling slowly, noisy and fumy
She waves at buses and bin lorries and anything zoomy;
I see bare, dead trees just waiting for Spring
She sees funny, knobbly branches and piles of leaves to fling;
I see anonymous people, heads down, trudging, harassed
She sees a bright bobble hat, a yellow umbrella, smiles going past;
I just want to go home, I’m cold, tired and snappy
She’s on an adventure, she’s endlessly happy.

It is the most lovely poem, isn’t it? And it’s hard to finish without a smile and a feeling that perhaps the world isn’t all awful after all. Does life have to stop being an adventure?

I will remember Jenny’s poem this long, mild winter through. Despite everything, there is a beautiful world out there. It just depends on how you look at things.

I hope you all have a very Happy New Year.

Best regards

Richard