Poetry corner

The secret to a happy marriage is agreeing to disagree, according to old romantic David Groves. The 82-year-old says: “I wrote this poem to my wife. After 40 years of marriage, we’ve yet to have our first argument.”

Brummie David met Lyn, now 71, in Salford, Gtr Manchester, and they married at The Salvation Army in Lyn’s neck of the woods, Grays Thurrock, Essex, in 1981, with David sporting a rather fine moustache.

“Lyn likes to do craft while I enjoy writing poetry, reading and collecting old reel-to-reel films,” says David. “We both have our views and agree to differ without making a meal of it. The poem says it all.”

To A Much Loved Lady By David Groves

If you stand very still in the heart of your world,

And observe without saying a word, You’ll be very surprised at the things that you see,

And distressed at some things that you’ve heard.

Your senses will reel at the hurt some men do,

As they pillage for profit and gain,

With never a thought for the damage they’ve done,

Leaving dust where God’s diamonds have lain.

If you ask about loyalty, justice and truth,

Fond acts of a far nobler age,

You’ll find that they died and were buried by men,

Whose behaviour has stained history’s page.

If you stand very still in the heart of my world,

You’ll discover a realm full of love, Where waters lie still and reflect all the blue,

Of the unsullied skies far above.

For out of the echoes of all the years, Comes a voice that will help you to see, A world in existence for you alone,

And my love, dearest heart, is its key.

TEAM David and Lyn and, above, on their wedding day