Those Days of Yore
A poem by Michael Hawkes
We may wish we wanted what we wanted long before,
In those uncertain days
When climatic change and perpetual foreign war
Were recklessly appraised.
When exotic things to eat were replete in every store,
Then cooked in foreign ways
Assuaged the latest craze.
When smoky fume filled skies we didn’t yet abhor
Made for hazy busy days.
When spiteful pilots bombed every city that they saw
And set the world ablaze.
When the many gassed in trenches, contrary to all law
Left mankind in a daze.
When forests stood in splendour and across the open moor
Sheep could safely graze.
When man was chivalrous, as in the days of yore,
In sweet romantic ways.
When we wished upon a star and regarded ancient lore,
In those most halcyon of days.
20/03/27 – Hawkes
Feature image: Tonbridge Castle, John K Thorne via StockPholio.net
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[/col][col size=”10″]Michael Hawkes was a cherished poet and contributor whose work enriched the pages of WestmountMag.ca with its sensitivity and depth. Over the years, he entrusted us with a rich body of poems, of which only a portion has yet been published. His passing leaves a profound void, but the poems still to come will continue inspire all who were moved by his voice.[/col][/row]