It is a long time since we had any poetry on the podcast. From time to time, I look at a book of English poetry and wonder whether I can use any of the poems. But very few poems are written in simple English which is easy to understand. My friend, Margaret Scorey, however writes poems which use simple and direct English, and are therefore very good for English learners. Here is a poem she wrote about a month ago. She wrote it for a woman who had recently become a grandmother. But the woman’s family, and the new grandchild, were in America, so grandmother travelled to America to hold her new grandchild in her arms for the first time. Margaret has called the poem “To Hold you, to hold you”.

　　My longing is to hold you,

　　to feel your soft cheeks against mine

　　to look into your gentle eyes

　　to touch your hair

　　and feel the warmth of your breath.

　　Soon I will.

　　But know that when I return,

　　the ache will be as great as it is now,

　　softened only by memories.

　　But one thing, I will be able to say is,

　　‘I’ve done it, I’ve done it, I’ve held you’.

　　Poem copyright Margaret Scorey, 2007, used with permission.