Poem - Pauper's Gold

"When the sun slips behind the clouds all the heather turns purple and then, just for a moment, when the sun drops behind the hill, the whole moor turns into a sea of gold.... they call it pauper's gold, because no rich man could ever own such beauty."  

This quote is taken from the 1996 BBC1 adaptation of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë. 

"Pauper's Gold" seemed to me to be such a beautiful and evocative phrase. To represent those treasures that cannot be bought or stolen - the fleeting beauty of a sunrise or sunset perhaps, or freedom, nature, love... 

I have tried to encapsulate some of my thoughts in this short poem. I hope you enjoy it. 


PAUPER'S GOLD

You drift in sunset over hills, 
too soft to call your own.
A shift of colour in the air, 
a hush the wind has blown.
No hand can hold the way you move, 
no hedge can mark your place.
But something lingers in your eyes, 
A trace no wealth could chase.
The light is different where you pass, 
though few folks pause to see.
And what remains is just a sense 
of what was, quietly.
No words can measure what you give.
No grasp will make it stay.
It slips between the moments, 
like the fading of the day.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Part 2 - Ghost of Christmas Present.

24 DECEMBER 2025 - IT IS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS.  It is the night before Christmas , and all through the house not a creature is stirring. Well, except me, wallowing like a mighty walrus, in my hot bubble-bath. I am lathered in Imperial Leather and I smell divine even if I do say so myself. I pick up my mobile phone and begin to type. The light from my screen and from the six candles placed at the foot of the bath are all that illuminate the bathroom. An Indie Christmas playlist drifts in from the speaker in the kitchen, as the hushed voice of Ellie Rowsell meanders up the stairs beseeching Santa to “put a sable under the tree.” There is something oddly comforting about this moment. The warmth of the water, the quiet hum of the house, and the knowledge that everything that needs to be done today has already been done. Well, almost everything! What an unexpected day it has been! Time spent with Nichola, Jane, and Lily. A visit to Dad’s brought that familiar comfort of my childho...
Read more

The Day The Mirror Fell.

Image
Claire and I were sitting in the kitchen when we heard the mirror fall that morning. It never reached the floor but slid from the wall and lodged itself behind the sofa, tilted and breathing, as if the house had changed its mind halfway through. The surface of the mirror didn’t shatter – it remained whole, held there at an awkward angle, reflecting only the narrow strip of the white wall it faced. The black glass beads that had once adorned it were fragmented and lay scattered like tiny jewels on the sofa cushion – never again to be whole. I didn’t know it then but, just like that mirror, my life was about to change forever. My Dad, already ill by then, was being cared for at home by my sisters. I had been there the night before, finishing my weekend shift beside him. It had been challenging; Dad wasn’t eating or drinking. He was distressed, and we had struggled to secure the medical support he needed in the days after his impromptu and somewhat surprising discharge from hospital. Afte...
Read more

The Uninvited

This is a story about the things we fear most when the night falls and the world goes quiet.  The Uninvited  is inspired by a series of weird dreams and a very real moment in my life. One that I will probably never forget.  I’d just come home from hospital after being taken ill from work and was meant to be taking things easy. It had been a lazy day and I wasn't sleepy, so I was sitting up in bed with only the light from my tablet keeping me company. It was 2am and I was about to settle down to sleep when I heard noises downstairs. At first I thought I was hearing things but it soon became apparent that I had an intruder!  At this point I have to confess that I had failed to lock my patio doors. I know that an unlocked door does not give anyone the right to come into my home without an invitation but I do feel more than a little foolish. Anyway, believe me when I say that I will now always but always check my doors before going to bed!  Happy reading! THE UNINVI...
Read more