The chance to celebrate national poetry month, however, has brought one resident to centre stage. 100-year-old Emma has written poetry for most of her life. She keeps all her poems in a folio, each individually typed with love and care.

Recently, residents sat to hear the team recite some of these poems. Emma’s selection ranges from love to loss, from family to solitude and everything in between. Emma is proud that many of her poems have been published over the years and is particularly proud to have featured in ‘Chat’ magazine.

One poem in particular was very well received by her fellow residents and we wanted to share it with you:

Spring

A summer’s day

A bright blue sky

The fragrant smell of peat,

The sights and sounds of countryside

A field of swaying wheat.

A lovely dell, a country lane,

The buzz of bumble bee.

There’s beauty all around us

And all of it is free.

The lovely trees of different hues

As autumn time comes around,

And with the shedding of their leaves

A carpet then is found.

The air is fresh and crisp and clean

As wintertime is nigh,

And winds blow leaves and seeds about

And clouds go scudding by.

Even on a wet day there’s beauty to be found

Take the gleam on sunlight

On puddles on the ground.

But wait until the spring comes around

The wonder of it all,

As buds begin to push their way

And birds begin to call.

Leaves burst forth in triumph,

Ants begin to run

Hedges start to shoot about

And spiders web is spun.

Oh yes to see the county

When spring is on the way,

Is to know the joy of living

If only for one day.