Only the echoes
Of the mountains remain
As my legs take the strain
Of the heathery hills
The thistles are old now
Grey beards and tired
But finches adorn
Their feathery tops
With tinkling chat
And glitter
Golden gorse
And autumn daisies
light the ditch
And owls on tops of mossy walls
Watch with amber eagle-eyes
And seize their day
with happy calls
#CoSopoetry

@Esther on the very edge between exhilaration and terror😊

Hill worn and
Mountain-tired
Terrifying heights
And scree-sliding
Slaloms and
Shingly-tinkling
Set aside.
I'm back on my bike
In my own country
Where the heather
And thistle dance
mauve in the breeze
And pipits whistle
In whispers.
The hills are low
And soft in the mist
Quiet, peaceful
Grey and beautiful.
#CoSopoetry

Walking home
Thw sun on my face
West wind in my hair
The mountains in my legs
All gnarly and cramped
But buoyed by the beauty
Of breathtaking truth
hidden by mist
Revealed by descent
And the light of the hills
My legs cool
From the beautiful pools
Of Lingmell beck
Clear and insistent,
Soothing and calm
The Raven's call is in my blood
Im connected to air
To earth and water
And a part of this place
Is in my heart.
#CoSopoetry

At least the owls in their holes
Are dry.
But I
Am soaked,
pushing up the hill
With a south wind behind me,
In good company
Frothy Goldenrod
Glowing
The purple heather
Spangled with raindrops
Swallows
High
Hawk in the drizzle
Mist in my eyes
And the sound of the wind
Soft in my ears.
#CoSopoetry

I sometimes feel like I'm a ghost
The way I haunt these hills.
Golden daisies
And the grouse are laughing
On the purple moor
A Kestrel unhooks
From a dark grey sky
And floats across
the flying field,
Sharp-eyed and hunting.
Wild geese calling
Their ragged constellation
Blown asunder on the edge
To land in tumult in the sedge
#CoSopoetry

A field full of Harebells,
and the sky has fallen.
Did you notice that the heather
Has arrived?
Cloaking the hill
In purple cloths
Brings sweetness
To the breeze.
Goldenrod
at the peak of its powers
Shining.
Between absinth
And mauve thistle-tops
Michaelmas daisies
Nod their sad little heads
Leading the dance
into autumn
#CoSopoetry

Owls in the sun
On bright stones shining.
A hundred geese
Fly home from the hill
Turn into the wind
And call their hellos
To rippling waters
A Swallow weaves
Silken dreams
Over the top field
Where gossamer
And thistle fluff
Floats over the edge
A black butterfly
The shadow
of a white one
Flutters by.
#CoSopoetry

The pale crescent
Of a waning moon
Hangs high
Like a smile
In a bright blue morning
Pure white butterflies
Wherever I look
Fluttering like promises
I meant to keep
Ah, the swallows are gathered
Down in the pastures
And wild geese, in great flocks
Wait, high on the hillside
I wonder do they know
The scent of a fox.
#CoSopoetry

The dog days
Are nearly over
It has been quiet
On the hill
A bright start
To the morning
A golden greeting
from the sun
But clouds of doubt
Returning
Like finches twittering
On prickly thistles
To dull the day
Only a Kestrel
To keep me company
Hovering silent
Above the edge
Over the harrowed meadow
And the muddy furrow
#CoSopoetry

Crystal clear
northerly air
Bright and fresh
Tall towers
Away to the east
Halfway to the sea,
Goldfinch charms
On fluffy thistles
A single bird
Sails on the water
A lonely boat
On a sparkling ocean.
One wild raspberry
Bitter and sweet
Sharp as the eye
Of the hovering hawk
Searching for answers
In shining grass
#CoSopoetry

Three Ravens high
Over a green field
Daring each other
With free-fall tumbles
Into the sun
Scouring the cliff
With delight.
Swallows low
On the glowing moss
Settled on the wire
And chattering like gossips
At the fair
Out along the meadow
By the tumble
In the wall
There's a golden hare
Dancing with a doe
#CoSopoetry

Peaceful
Glitter on the black lake
Goldfinch on the thistles
Shimmering,
Silver, owl light
Magical and bright
A soft north wind
In my face
Fills my lungs
With edgy air
Four grey partridges
On their tiptoes, peeping
And I'm flying with the swallows
Low by the road
#CoSopoetry

Misty and wet
Fine drizzle
Soaked to my bones
Grey hills, shrouded
Clouds drift along
Lost in the valley
Bright goldenrod
Lighting the gloom
A little bit of sunshine
On the side of the hill
Red rowan leans low
Heavy with berries
And my moorland oak
Hushes her secrets
Under a shower of finches
And pipits
Glimmering, whispering
tinsel and glitter
#CoSopoetry

I've been thinking a lot
About confidence lately
How it sometimes behaves
Like a landmark in mist
Appearing
Then disappearing
Returning again
As you descend
From your hill of uncertainty
From out of the clouds of doubt
Drizzling around you
Stinging like little wasps
Pinning you down.
Just follow the road
Keep practising
The landmarks are there
Though you can't see them
They're inside your head
Just like the doubt.
#CoSopoetry

All those rains
Brought my walls
Tumbling down
The ground beneath
Is washed away.
Today
The sun is shining
It's cool and clear
Happy geese
are in the high meadow
And disappearing hares
turn to stone
I flew with Kestrels today
And felt their searching gaze
I'll build my walls again
There will be better days.
#CoSopoetry

Everything around me
is in mist
And thoughts might turn to gloom
But I resist
I notice purple thistles in the rain
And I am glad
To see the crows again
A wren sings from a hawthorn
high and bright
The Rowan lights the hedge
With ruby light
Is this all for me
All of this soft beauty
Singing
Even on a day like this?
#CoSopoetry

Ragweed
Ragged thistles
Tall spires of rusty dock
Lean away,
Wet walls shelter
Soaking sheep from
Sheets of rain
Rolling in curtains
Blown over the hillside
Like spray on the ocean.
The crows delight
In this autumn weather
And summer swallows
Are still joyful
Flying low
Finding their treasure
Close to the ground
Over the heather.
#CoSopoetry

A litter of green leaves
Gale-blown, torn down
By last night's weather.
Grey clouds
heavy on the hill
Black crows hang
On the edge of the breeze
Loving its wildness
Hurl themselves up
From the tops
Of high trees
A moment of brighness
A watery sun
breaks open the sky
Lights golden lilies
By the rickety gate.
#CoSopoetry

Dark and windy
Westerly weather
Hushing round the sycamore
Rushing through the slender Ash
Hissing in the rushes
By the black, black lake
Raven, strong and stately
Flows into the wind
On the turbulent edge
Finding his way,
Like a dark insinuation
In the grey.
Merlin flickers like fire
On the rim of the hill
As startled Swallows
shriek their warnings,
A Heron, eyes wild,
Hunting for frogs
Spring-loaded with guile
Out on the splashy bogs
#CoSopoetry