Brian Bedford: In Memoriam

Some voices shape our own

In memory, in manifestation

In twist of accent, turn of tone

In the comfort they give, the hope they plant

Those are the voices that form our tomorrows

They teach us to breathe in deeply

And to speak as we hear spoken

The words lilting through our minds

"And keep your chin up…"

The stories they breathe deeply into

"Someday there'll be happiness again…"

The place, in our hearts, opened, never closed

"…in Nottingham…"

For we all have our little towns within,

All have our castle walls to scale,

Tales lend life to those towns,

Lend meaning to our climbs,

And tellers lend life to the tales

They make themselves an instrument

To make all our hearts a stage

And that stage is ever England

Ever merry, in the face of the rain

"Once we watched the lazy world go by…"

Ah yes, so simple, our childhood days

With bent stick and elastic band

In the woods beyond my house

Ever Sherwood, at twilight

"Now the days seem to fly…"

Yet even as the arrow flies, it sings

And the song stays inside

And encircles us outside

It goes on

On and on and on…

"Love goes on and on."

That's the heart of all things

More than life itself