Rhythms of Nature
A lot of the poetry and prose that I write is inspired by nature. The sights, sounds, smells and beauty of the seasons, of birds and mammals. I find it awe inspiring to spend a day by the sea in the rain and to witness the power of the tide, or a day in the moors where barren land cries to the soul. I hope you enjoy some of my sharings below. Please feel free to look at my photography also.
Much love.
Lisa x
Tyto Alba © lisa Naylor
She flies by dawn
Through a golden haze
Silent wings
Deadly gaze
Mouths to feed
Prey to seek
Graceful hunter
Exposing the weak
Target in sight
Taste of meat
Frightening scuttle
No heartbeat
Upwards she soars
Victorious
Surfing the breeze
How glorious
Apricot, white,
Beak and tail feather
Assassin’s claw
To strike and to sever
Killer beauty
Slicing blue sky
Ghostly presence
Piercing cry
Majestic raptor
Dance upon high
Peacefully gliding
On wing in our sky
Enchanted Woods © lisa naylor
Shafts of sunlight touch Carpeted green,
River runs fast over steady still rocks
Bees caress sweet lilac blooms
Lichen soften's the nest of the wren
Toadstools sprout cover for secretive fairies
Seeking shelter and solace amongst precious buds
Drops of dew sparkle as gems of the woods
Nestled in private, displaying their love
Trees bend and bow to make dens of mystery
Away from the chaos, their leaves that conceal
Protecting embraces, carefully sheilding
Their guard of honour, the promise of freedom
Willow warbler calling, blackbird erupting
Sounds of this world so earthly and pure,
Raindrops percussive on glossy green leaves
Rustling wildly, intoxicating breeze
Looking on high, wild rugged escape
Severe weather hugs rocky facades
Zipped up, decorated with all shades of green
Those who tread here must pay a price
Lakes spread through valleys, still waters calm
The sun a reflection, bringing deep waters warmth
Rainbows appear to bring promise of hope
And rescue the drowning to soft, sheltered banks
A place where love can breed like wildfire
Alighting with passion isolated trees
Colours more vivid, light more blinding
A moment of magic, that lovers do seize
Butter-fly © lisa naylor
Flutter-by
Kiss flowers sweet in bloom
Hover-by
Angel-fly
Spread you rainbow filled perfume
Wonder-by
Glitter-fly
Colours through your bright wing petals
Fairy-fly
Dancing-by
Till starlight rays do settle
Rain © lisa naylor
Blessings pour down
Iced white snowflakes
The cold brings relief
To hot hearts that ache
Beautiful patterns
Decorate skin
Melting through to the soul
The world seeping in
Flashes of sky
Now deep in the bones
Rays of sunshine
Soft seated thrones
Long peaceful sleep
Love from inside
Quickly infects
And warmly confides
Now resigned
In the arms of an angel
Sense of belonging
Cradled and held still
Still, as the heart beats
The pulse is still strong
Still, as our lives leap
Filled with love song
The Pine Wood © lisa naylor
In the woods
Dreams realised
Bluebell carpet
Gentle eyes
Sun streams through
Between spruce trees
Succulent berries
Glistening leaves
Buttercups lighten
Tangled in bracken
Glow worms shine
Bright like a gemstone
Sweet smelling air
Caresses cold hands
Contracts and relaxes
Nothing demands
Dormice scurry
Amongst clumps of heather
Squirrels scuttle by
Burying treasure
Light floods the pine wood
With beams of fresh joy
Jays spread their colour
Magpies destroy
Hearts are wide open
Blood pumps bright red
Inspiration is found here
Where foxes do tread
In fast flowing streams
Dippers flick through their day
Protecting their young
Thieves kept at bay
The love in the pine woods
Is present tonight
Accompanied by birdsong
And warm evening light
It remains here for those
Who yearn for it’s freedom
And the rivers do flow
To refresh when they come
Evening Gratitude © lisa naylor
Pink Sunsets,
Lamp light burns
Evening wishes
Tides that turn
Moonlight softens
Waters edge
Distant memories
Of warbling sedge
Fresh salt water
Stimulates brain
Gentle lapping
Seashore refrain
The Island © lisa naylor
The sea is blue and shades of green
Grey rocks lie jagged with cliffs between
All around sweet beauty lies
Whilst armed assassins patrol the skies
Small chicks wake to find their food
Has been delivered from mouths above
Small wings are tired with fishing pressures
To keep young alive, devoids all pleasures
Whitethroat sing on thistle and fern
A love song to all hearts that yearn
Their song stretches out to wide open seas
Sweet notes resound through white blossom trees
Gulls sweep the island, their shadows below
A warning to songbirds who dare to show
Their beating chests and melodic chatter
Black back guards still on duty, cackling with laughter
The balance of all life so beautifully seen
Through sweet lilac orchids, and hues of green
One watches the sites with a paralysed mind
The thoughts of the rat race seems so far behind
At this time the heart stops beating so fast
Blocking out pain, where shadows were cast
The mind wants to stay at this pace for much longer
'till ready to emerge refreshed and much stronger
And still the loneliness penetrates through the soul
To be alone is such moments, does not make one whole
Experiencing the world through a single view finder
Does not satisfy, sharing life is much kinder
Written after observing the behaviour of Manx Shearwaters
© lisa naylor
Silhouetted banshees drowning the sky
Wailing and moaning,
They cry,
I ask why?
What is the sadness
That leaves you no light?
What pray be the reason
You come only at night?
Your footsteps so clumsy
So weak, undecided
Do you know where you’re going?
Do you need to be guided?
I wish I could offer some friendly advise
But I do not feel able
To find words
That are wise
I feel you discomfort
I make the same cry
In the depths of the night
Also wondering why
The threats of the gulls
So real and so near
Angel wings in the morning
You now fly much freer
Will I ever find out why your cry is so loud?
Will I ever pick one of you out from the crowd?
Alas my dear friend, these are things I won’t know
Until that one day when the fear has let go
To feel the burn
Of desperate pain
Allows the sun to be worshipped
After the rain
So when joy comes along
So fresh and so strong
It is then dear friend
I will rest and belong
It is then I will come
And sit alongside
It is then, pretty one,
You will not need to hide
Moonshine © lisa naylor
The Moon is yours
It's light is true
Though blocked by clouds
It shines for you
Eagle's Wings © lisa naylor
Just like the eagle
soaring on high
A brush of the canvas
In a painted blue sky
Turning, driving
Gliding on wing
Powering fast through clouds
Racing through wind
Gracefully dancing
Scanning the ground
Elegant hunter
Prey to be found
Silently beating
locked target below
expertly swooping
Just one fatal blow
Cradling her triumph
To family nest
She glides back through the clouds
Dark blood stained chest
This mystical wonder
Of Bird or of beast
Rests from on high
Surveying the feast
Awaiting the time
When her chicks learn to fly
More brush strokes of colour
on a painted blue sky
Winter's silence © lisa naylor
Winter's sights
on crispy nights
Firey dawn sky
Swans glide by
A reminder
Of days
When the sun
Stayed bright
And comets
They fell
In the depths
Of the night
When fledglings sang
In evergreen tree
A song of love
For you and me
When rain poured down
To replenish ground
And winds they blew
So the sun could shine thru
Now are the days
Post summer-haze
When leaves have fell
In autumn's spell
and lone bare trees
November does freeze
Turning white to blue
No buds shoot thru
This solid ground
As Robin's sound
Denied to grow
With winter's' blow
This barren terrain
Loves only in vein
Snow covering food
for badger's brood
White on white
Harsh but true
Sheltered dens
Where birds flock to
Unforgiving frosty morn
Supersedes
A crow-filled dawn
Cries of murder
Loudly Resound
Carcasses lie
Where fox prints are found
a cruel, cold day
A ransom to pay
Iced spears from the sky
Lone magpie flies by
Rabbits foot
Is not
A lucky charm here
Instead warmly wishes
Are shadowed with fear
A dark heavy veil
Marks summer's betrayal
A noiseless winter
stripped and laid bear
Tragically beautiful
The cold does reveal
And silently threatens
as lives it does steal
King of the River © lisa naylor
Flash of blue
Against clouded grey
The kingfisher was here
Though did not stay
High pitched cry
His call a warning
He speeds down river
Summer's day dawning
Sunset orange
Iridescent blue
He scans, he hovers
As Minnows speed through
Perched by the water
In white blossom tree
Sumptuous throne
For this wise Monarch be
He surveys the scene
With an all knowing eye
Water droplets on feather
Beginning to dry
Then suddenly
He has left the tree's peak
Still water shattered
Smashed by his beak
A short moment later
To the sky, the King flies
His dinner secured
As his catch slowly dies
And again, down the river
The King takes his prize
And the banks keep the secret
of the jewelled Emperor's life
The Bee
Sat alone,
afraid,
no home
The honey she made
like memories fade
when the bear isn't there
to enjoy it
After the rain © lisa naylor
The smell
of fresh starts
seeps through
hearts
broken by storms
before
Puddles
Appear
Bright lights
Cheer
Through reflections
On
City street’s floor
The air
Of hope
Quickens steps
To elope
Homeward bound
To
Warm houses nearby
Trees stand
A new
Leaves
Sparkle with dew
As final drops
Fall
from grey sky
Burnt skies © lisa naylor
Fireball of passion
Dancing on high
Burnt orange radiates
Through blazing red sky
Love kept alive
By warm evening glow
Etched in the heart
Not letting go
Luminous sunsets
Awaken the mind
Bringing fresh promise
A new world to find
Morning Glory © lisa naylor
Dusky morning set alight
Autumn colours burning bright
Mist rolls over hills anew
Glistening sight of morning dew
Antlers seen through thinning fog
Jackdaws caw on dying log
Acorns fall on autumn ground
squirrels scurry at their sound
Jays delight in sunshine flurry
Finding stocks to freshly bury
Geese return, spears from sky
Angelic swans pass them by
Toadstools colour path and field
Shining red as magpies steal
Collared doves on wing together
Enjoy this perfect flying weather
A day in the life...© lisa naylor
Hippy heart
smell of earth
flight of moth
fledglings birth
Sunrise high
Mist lies long
conkers fall
Mother's song
Midday rest
overexpose
pen in hand
stacato prose
nightlight creeps
shadows fall
cloudless night
trees stand tall
Lake reflects
nesting coot
cold descends
Owls hoot
Velvet sky
stars abound
bats fly low
o'er hallowed ground
Songbird's Rescue © lisa naylor
The end of the world
Yet a Linnet
Sings notes that resound in your soul
He gives breath to the hope in your heart
As the pain deep inside takes it's toll
For the beauty you long since forgotten
has surged like a wave in your mind
And for a minute the end of the world
seems a place you have left far behind
The Finale © lisa naylor
Swansong rises
from a mist-laden lake
with the notes of a soul laid to rest
beautifully tragic
gracefully grieving
her dying song flows from her chest
Autumn Days © lisa naylor
Rustic Gold Splendour
Marries warm celtic green
Dappled Sunlight paints woodland
As leaves float downstream
Fallow deer gently tred
Through fauna and fern
Brooks softly babble
While morning sun burns
Kestral hovers o'er meadow
Where haybales reside
A lone barn owl quarters
Voles swiftly hide
Cries of young buzzards
Spread wildly on breeze
As hares nestle quietly
In the shade of tall trees
Endless Summer © lisa naylor
inspired by some the most beautiful and wonderful times of my life x
Slicing swifts scything through the soft air
Little owl distantly calling
creating a soundtrack for balletic trees
swaying silently in summer's breeze
Birds gather in their groups to roost
breathing slows
Gentleness overcomes the chaos of day
As a welcomed and warm touch
the evening kisses those that have breath
A pink sunset lights up the sky as far as the eye can see
and marks the end of another night
Warblers rest their voices
ready for dawn
a chorus like no other
time passes, dreams unfold
A lonely barn owl flies through the long, scented grasses,
white and quiet like a dream, she works through the sights of the evening
her wings cut through the still, soft air
whilst her calls echo around the freshly cut fields
small creatures hide from her majestic presence
She disappears through a slowly descending darkness
her ghostly figure only a memory
A golden silence ascends and harmonises with a fiery sunset
All is calm except for beating hearts
that watch and wonder
and yearn for a place in the freedom of these fields
Seasons' change © lisa naylor
Hanging in the air
along with seasonal decorations
the year that has passed
lays still and silent
waiting for refreshment
Memories of the sea,
Safety of large boulders,
The reassuring sight of the moon
Wild and rugged moors where hearts beat in time
Curlews calls that stir the soul
A Ghostly barn owl quartering
Silent, in the cool summer's breeze
Kestral hovering over lovers loving
kisses blown through the wind,
dodging oak trees
Sadness of the summer fading
and hope for another
the soothing soundtrack of the country
keeping hearts and minds
soothed
and in love
forever vital
forever committed
silently and beautifully
a symphony yet to be heard.
After the Rain © lisa naylor
A heartfelt cry
to you out there
please think of us
and what we were
what dreams we have
how we'll heal this pain
with a long embrace
after the rain
After the rain
Birds take to wing
When the rain stops
the nightingale sings
and we will stand there
just the two of us be
after the storm
the rainbow we'll see
Colours so vibrant,
so rich and so pure
once heavy clouds pass
our love will endure
Where the light fell © lisa nayor July 2013
Where the light fell
Tall shelter of trees
Protected wood fairies
In soft blue bell breeze
A carpet of lilac
Where deer gently tred
Is a hiding for hares
For the woodmouse, a bed
On the bright silver birch
The treecreeper creeps
Over secretive sets
where badger cubs sleep
Bees flit and flirt
as bells gently chime
Jays ring their songs
Not a beat out of time
Song thrushes chirping
amidst cuckoo calls
Brown dippers wading
As cool water falls
Woodpecker drumming
on aged oak wood
Sunlight now stealing
Where orchids once stood
Yet only when darkness
Falls deftly tonight
will the stars brightly burn
and glow worms ignite
As the night sets alight
and hope quietly calls
and if you search with your heart
you will see the light fall
Reflections of Glass Pools © lisa naylor - August 2013
Golden sands
Mixed with unearthly silence
stretches...
away to offshore turbines
braving the day
Courgeously
turning and slicing
through salty air
that once was sweet
Twelve moons ago
as hearts did meet
Curlews trill
cross sands of time
cadenzas frame
poetic rhyme
beacons sit,
in pools of glass
while ships set sail
and boats drift pass
Clouds dance in blue
and scarlet lace
indigo tears
stain the face
for once the beach
did hold the minds
of gentle hands
and kindly times
A silent wave
now ends each day
awaiting burnt sky's
golden ray
tomorrow's tide
bringing hope once more
of sunset blessings
felt once before
Time and tide © lisa naylor
the tide for the lonely
and hearts that are broken
softening sands
when harsh words are spoken
Refreshing the mind
when memories are dying
each salty spray
a world that is crying
and leaving the beach
to unite with the whole
the power of bonding
grabs hold of the soul
Burnt Skies © lisa naylor
Fireball of passion
Dancing on high
Burnt orange radiates
Through blazing red sky
Love kept alive
By warm evening glow
Etched in the heart
Not letting go
Luminous sunsets
Awaken the mind
Bringing fresh promise
A new world to find
Autumns's Refrain © lisa naylor 20/10/13
Ghostly cries
In silhouette skies
as sunset breaks
the light it takes,
but the swans they fight
dressed in white
with golden shine
symmetrical line
hundreds fly
through dusty sky
wings of peace
as light does cease
till tomorrow's hues
doth gently fuse
and ring again
Autumn's refrain
A Birders morning © lisa naylor Nov 2013
The morning breathes.
Starlings warm their irredescent wings
ready to venture into the new dawn.
Herons command golden skies
beating their heavy wings into the misty morning
Teal and Shoveler coverse loudly
as moorhens disagree from the tops of willow trees
the mist from the pond, a backdrop for dusky drama
Wingbeats away
Sanderling busily preen thier pure white breasts
against a fierce backdrop of crashing waves
A prayer of Godwit fly low and revently above rough waters
The call of curlew carries on the wind
to whitewashed lighthouses
that rest in the light,
a vast expanse of blue sits on the horizon
peppered only by the moving turbines
that cut through the deep storm clouds
hanging in the sky
The day has begun.
A Birder's evening
The day starts to slow
The retiring sun descends to cast long glistening shadows across the marshlands.
A Wing of Golden Plover take to flight;
twisting and turning to catch rays of sunlight that will disappear all too soon.
Curlews sweep the plains,
bubbling melodic lullabies
to egrets fishing in crystal still pools;
Reflections of balletic poise
In the cool shades of sunset
The ghostly barn owl hovers
over fading rustic fields
Hoping to find morsals
Whilst the air is still dry
Skeins of Brent geese purr gently across indigo skies
Casting dark silhouettes,
A reminder of the night that will come
A Murmaration of starlings sear overhead
Filling the sky like a cloud of black locusts
A dance of darkness
All is at rest,
All but the faint sound of a Cetti
Singing the reed beds to sleep
A final breath
The light has gone once more
A prelude to Spring © lisa naylor Nov 2013
Trees stand still
But breath is seen
Beneath the branch Of evergreen
In Ash and Beech
Their structures hold
To furnish elves
If tales be told
In Winter, bare,
They rest and long
For berries, leaves
And warbler song
To be home to creatures
And not to reason
To woodpeckers drumming
Whatever the season
To be strong to lost souls
Weary bodies and hearts
Sitting close to their roots
Hoping life will restart
To be fruitful in Autumn
As lovers will rest
Beside earthly brown bark
And last year's nests
Whispering secrets and wishes
Dreams until dark
Cold hands held tight
Till the sound of the lark
Yes, trees, they do breathe,
They dance and they sing
And their hearts beat, As leaves grow
In the prelude of Spring
Tales of the Reedbed © Lisa Naylor
Tails of ducks, a joyous sight,
Mallard chuckles in Winter’s light
Heron wades his muddy trails,
High pitched squeals of water rails
Echo in reedbeds, beside bittern’s boom
A cacophony of earthly soul’s, as darkness softly looms
Waiting for a sky show, the starlings flock in groups
Awaiting for their moment, flying silhouetted troops
Marsh Harrier is grounded, no wind is felt today
Painted bearded tits, instead on reeds can sway
Gently, sprightly hoping, with a loud jubilant ping,
Making our hearts thankful, each roll call they ring
Wren now making home amongst hard and deadened leaves
As silently and deftly the sparrowhawk she weaves
Through branches in the wood, ‘neath tall tree top masses,
Lone Barn owl taking stock, whilst the rain shower passes
And as this world is huddled, and all things come together,
Warmth is kept in roosts against fierce, icy weather
Their heartbeats and their wingbeats,
Their notes, their hoots, their songs,
Will quietly now settle, and last this cold night long
As this short day has now ended, the reedbeds let us know
And calmly now all creatures breathe, as sunsets casts it glow