A poem for Arnold     January 2002 A very naughty schoolboy Had snuck under the fence Some friends of him had dared him To dilly dally hence. Now that he knew He should never have done "It was" he explained later "Just for a bit o' fun?". He sneaked between the trees And struck upon the lake, And there it was precisely He got bitten by a snake! The snake – a little shy Tried to hide behind the tree But that’s precisely where the boy Had stopped to take a wee… His mother and his father Who had overnight grown old Admitted he deserved it As “he would not do as told.” Said the head of the school, Where the boy was at. To his nodding parents who Supposed that -  that was that. Now all around the smiling boy The medics are a-hovering And of the snake... It is said to be recovering! (A true account of Arnold Smith who got bitten by a snake in January 2002 (De La Salle High School / Basildon) – Written by Miss D West)	Dust : The Epilogue September 12, 2008 by Dalene West   You can call me Dusty Cause just like dust, I rise Just the other day when Heaven opened up the skies All my problems seemed to surface Hover round, like flies Then from the ashes, scraped my will From the dust, to rise.   When the world seemed set to kill Annihilate my hope The dust around me dances still Inspires me to cope So let 'em hang themselves Give 'em just enough of rope Like dust I'll scatter love and prayers Just aint no time to mope.   Cause dusty, like the dusk On a sub-saharan face You mock me with your eyes And say vile things 'bout my race But just like dust I'll settle In your mind without a trace My love you won't erase It'll rise through time and space.   (A poem inspired by Maya Angelou's "Still I rise")	The Guest by Dalene West        Tuesday 13th January 2009.     From the dawn of creation when Satan was an angel of light With glistening robes, torch held high He lightened the darkest night.   He turned to God his heart aglow And smiling jaws stretched wide “Equal we are in power God” His chest puffed up in PRIDE.   “Lucifer that is quite enough” Said God “Get out of my garden! Leave right now, take all your stuff Unless you seek my pardon!”   “Beg your pardon?” jeered the beast His face had gone transformed Archangel to a writhing snake Who’d not be outperformed.   “Drive me from these pearly gates; And I’ll turn all hearts to evil With mother nature at my side, Down to the blackest weevil”   Then from that time right up till when Jesus was placed on earth He spewed, he writhed he did not like The sound of the baby’s birth…   He pursued him till the time was ripe Tormented him, spat and plotted Into the desert, he followed Christ Hissing “thisss, could be yoursss allotted!”   Christ Jesus turned around and said “Be gone, this is not yours - The choicest wages are with God” But Satan sharpened his claws.   “Your life will be mine, all mine!” Hissed he, in the garden of Gethsemane As Jesus prayed, with trembling hands “Abba God, take this cup from me”.   Satan turned towards the heavens His laughter shrill and high “We’ll see about your greatness now” He shrieked out to the sky.   As God looked on his dying child He sent the daylight to the west And turning to the baffled beast He simply uttered “Be my guest…”
A birthday wish to Natasha (sister, 05 September)   May the Lord protect and guide you Grant you happiness from within May all your frets be triflings That only scrape the skin   May all the gifts that you receive Be of the lasting kind That warms you to the very soul And grow a gentle mind   May all the friends who come your way Be sent from up above May spring reside inside your heart And seal upon it, Love.                            by Dalene West (amendment to original by DJWest)	Velvet Vice   I've heard some say that in this life Nothing is guaranteed Except for death and taxes we, Cannot of those be freed.   And yet in retrospective pause I marvel as I muse A force floods in I cannot shake Nor can I it refuse   It speaks in tongues all humankind Can understand at ease Its voice resounds through walls of ice Yet whispers on a breeze   It's might can sway a mighty vice Or still the cries of war It whips you with a velvet whip And titillates the core   Its LOVE that rocks the Milky Way It WAS and IS, will BE Forever it dwells on our way And lives for you and me.                                    by Dalene West.	Petal on the wind (A poem for Gerhardt Oct '69 - July 05)      10/08/2006 D.J.W   And then, just as sudden as it came I felt the breeze upon your name And quiet, softly, gently still A field of blossoms bloomed at will, The sky, a coloured canvas gleamed As time stood still, or so it seemed. The day, the wind blew you, my way Ironing the creases of my day. Without the needs for words at all Life's walls of ice had melted, small And in the beauty of your hands We shared a space of times on sands When just as quick as life can be The wind enticed you - gone, from me.   (A poem for Gerhardt, whose friendship and love God has graced me with until your earthly time was spent.)