This poem was written by Kaaren Whitney to mark our official Gate-opening at noon on Sunday 16th September 2007

 

ORCHARD BARN ACRE

One ancient pear in an orchard old,

Two walnut trees alive and bold,

Three willing workers,

Four boundary markers,

And five apples with their names yet untold.

 

Six greengages whose fruit is sweet,

Seven strong hazelnuts, what a treat,

Eight leaping frogs,

Nine entangling sloes

encircle the land, protect as they grow.

 

Ten living elms, I know there were more,

Eleven field mice hunt-scavenge earth's floor,

And twelve blackberries

complete the fruit

ancestor sown, their legacy root.

 

What does the future of Orchard Barn hold

Lady of Change, who transforms sevenfold?

People of heart

as well as like mind

tune into its needs, to those of mankind.

 

Work with the life force, the ley of the land,

create a group spirit, a cohesive band.

Start with a gate

rescued from Elm

and there stands the entrance to the new realm.

 

Thank-you Kaaren for this gift

Return to home page

 

www.orchardbarn.org.uk © 2007 Wildfire Designs

Photographs © Tony Mounter and Sarah Partridge