Colours and Lights of Childhood

Warm red flames of an open fire,
coaxed from scrunched paper, pale firewood and coke.

Orange goldfish swimming in small clear bags;
clutched prizes won from the bedazzling fair.

Yellow leaves drifting down from tall trees,
crunched underfoot in the golden sunlight.

Green Christmas trees with branches of spice,
strung with bright baubles and colourful bulbs.

Pale blue pyjamas of soft brushed nylon,
sparking arcs of static against the sheets.

Deep purple twilight of balmy nights,
after sunsets of rose over the fields.

Silver grey sparklers spitting out light,
writing their message in glowing trails.

Sparkling white snowmen, round and fat,
with faces and buttons fashioned from coal.

Velvet black nights full of twinkling stars,
undimmed by power-cut streetlights and homes.

Smooth brown wood and candles alight,
homework on the table in the miners’ strike.