The Purple Valley

SEE...

Baby steps dancing their way through the combe

Beneath the clouds of purple blooms...



HEAR...

The hum of bees as they gather together

The nectar within those purple blooms...



TASTE...

The sweet juice of togetherness, 

Family picnics among those purple blooms...



FEEL…

The magic, here, in the air, 

Touch my past, hold my hand, and you're right there.



WALK…

With me now and imagine the scene

Through a toddler's eyes - 

Wide to the world, 

Energy exerted, 

Screams!

"Mum, wait, I need a wee!"

"Find a space under that tree!"



Grown-ups, teens and children all

Have been here, answered nature's call!

A purple den for hide and seek,

A sun-soil-shield, no ‘life’ beneath.



Many a solstice passes…

Warmth fills the skies,

FEEL, SEE this place

Through changing eyes.



Yes, the birds still chitter, 

Sloworms still wriggle,

Insects writhe and badgers snuffle -

But the hum - the hum has gone -

...until the heather blooms.



Decades have passed since I last walked here

With my parents, brother, sister, deer.

Conservation has swept the valley floor

The invasive rhodies are no more?



But as I've grown I've learnt the why,

Native plants CAN now SEE the sky.

The purple valley ceases to be,

Except here, in my memory.



A Wensley

25.06.23
Inspired by Vinnecombe (the walk up to Staple Plain)