I Held His Hand

I Held His Hand

When I was young
on the beach
I held his hand
He made me feel safe

When I was older
we didn't hold hands
men don't do that
except in their hearts

In the hospital
pain etched on his face
pain in my soul
I held his hand once more



In his chair at home
He was no longer there
so for the final time
I held his hand

John Edward Fellows Apr 1 1935 - Apr 22 2005

Tim Fellows 2017

Pleasley

Pleasley

Two brothers rise from the earth
defiant, proud
Mocking those who ordered
their destruction

Inside their body
their no longer beating hearts
wait, restored to health
but with no blood to pump

Do they remember
those distant days
when they raised
and lowered their mighty load

From the darkness below
where their burrows spread beneath
two counties?
Where the rich seam knows
nothing of man's borders

Days of steam, noise,
clanging machines dragging
the dusty black gold
into the sunlight;
so harshly banished
into history

Now all is quiet and still
except for birdsong,
the excited bark of dogs
and childrens' laughter
in a place of tranquility

Where two brothers who
have nothing to prove
face each other;
Reaching into the Derbyshire sky
with heads held high
 
They stand in glorious tribute
to long gone days
and the love that keeps them
defiant, proud
Mocking those who ordered
their destruction.


(C) Tim Fellows 2017

Dedicated everyone who has helped save and restore Pleasley Pit and to all the volunteers who keep the memory alive.

What's that half wheel for?

What's that half wheel for?

"What's that half wheel?"
My daughter asked
"I see them everywhere"
How could she not
know what it is
or the reason they are there?

"What they were for",
I said to her
"When made into a wheel;
Was to wind the miners
down to work
Did they not tell you in school?"

If they just teach
of kings and queens;
of wars and ancient times
What will we know
of pits and coal;
Of working in the mines?

It's up to us
who lived the days
where memories are so clear
To keep alive the history;
don't let it disappear

The half-wheel's there
to remind us all
of the people of our town
They became our heritage
and we must not let them down.

(c) Tim Fellows 2017