To Old Friends

I needed to get away
To look out on life from a different view
To see reality coloured by a change of hue
I couldn't stay.

And so here's to old friends and comrades
To the hidden valley by the river
Where time stands still
Overlooked by the Grove of Chestnut trees on the ever watching hill.

For this is where I went to heal
This is my retreat to lick my wounds
This is where I learnt not to feel
As old and new merged in endless night.

We sat by the roaring log fire
And toasted old friends and new
We listened to Master musicians
And took in the icy view.

So here's to old friends and comrades
To the hidden valley by the river
Where time stands still
To the sentinel Chestnut watchers
On the overlooking hill.

As the night turned into morning
With the promise of a new day dawning
And the Darkness ebbed and flowed
To the Dawn light creeping through the door
I remembered old friends and comrades
Who decades of life had shared
Honest and caring people
Who their last blanket would have spared.

So thanks for the Peace and the Warmth
For Your sanctuary down by the river
For the company, wine, music and song
And the space to heal a wrong.