It’s National Poetry Day - Here are 5 of our favourite reader poems

• Then and Now

A shining black lead range standing in the hearth,

On Friday night close by would stand the old tin bath,

The oil lamp on the table to sit around each night,

And one by one the family would bath by cosy firelight,

A warm drink would be waiting and then a story read,

Then off they'd go quite contented to their bed.

Groceries were delivered and the baker called each day,

You gave your order in and it was delivered without delay,

No labour saving gadgets most things were done by mum,

Things were so much simpler then but everything got done,

The loo up the garden was a long way from the house,

Often when you got there over your feet would run a mouse,

A lantern would be needed to show the way on a dark night,

And often as you sat there you'd look up and see the stars so bright,

Toilets were emptied in the garden and buried in the soil,

Flowers and vegetables produced a bumper crop, some reward for all the toil.

Everything was cleaner then I'm sure you will agree,

But now we pump all our waste out into the sea,

Is this really progress the way we are today?

'Look after the environment' we're always hearing people say,

We have to move with the times for nothing stays the same,

But man is spoiling this world of ours

And he has take the blame.

Doreen Rombough

• Spiderweb

I brushed it away the other day as it hung outside my door,

With the sun shining through I had to look a bit more,

It was beautifully woven, like lace,

I had an expression of wonder and awe on my face,

No man could have created such glory,

It could never have come about by chance,

It was worth much more than a mere glance.

Later that day the wind blew it away,

I don't like spiders but I wanted the web to stay,

I am sure there will be another on another day,

It looked so amazing that day,

With the sun shining through,

A great intelligent mind was behind it,

There is no doubt in my mind that this could be anything but true,

A woman may have knitted something similar,

But she would have, at some time,

Dropped a stitch or two.

Betty Alden

• Free To A Good Home

It has been my custom since I first moved to Norwich each morning up on Mousehold Heath to roam,

But one morning as I passed by a well-tended garden on the drive was a potted plant with a note saying 'free to a good home'.

Now to me the plant it didn't look anything special,

Being new to gardening I thought would give it a try,

So I carried it home and planted that anonymous seedling in a part of my garden where I felt it would thrive.

Two summers have passed since I set that plant in the ground that was offered to me as a passing but total stranger,

And I've tendered and nursed and protected it with love,

It is now grown into a beautiful multi-coloured hydrangea.

The kindness of some folks never ceases to amaze me,

I hope the person who left that plant this poem will read,

And know that the kindness in leaving that plant on their drive has brought so much happiness by their simple but Christian good deed.

Don Woods

• My Garden

The garden is a lovely place

There's lots that you can do

Use it to grow your vegetables

Or have a barbecue.

I like to see some flowers there

Blooming all year round

All you do is sow some seeds

And they pop out of the ground.

Some people have a greenhouse

Others have just a frame

It helps to get an early start

But you get there just the same.

I put mine down to concrete

It's clean and weeds don't grow

My car can park there all day long

So safe there that I know.

You can lie down and sleep all day

On sun beds in the sun

But be careful if you do

'Cause sun burn isn't fun.

Frank Harper

• Rivers

Rivers Yare, Wensum, winding

Turning from stream to extreme

Running slow to fatal

Been danger in winters past

Round corners into bends

Sea it ends

Under bridges, through mill

Don't stand still

Current fast and catch a salmon

Be a task, a dream on plate

Make it last

Even ale from cask

Spend day on canal boat

Building morale

See kids faces, its story tells

Along the banks

Boats are tied up in neat ranks

Some there all year

They live, play, say good day

To all who pass on merry way

'From Ibiza to Norfolk Broads.'

Howard Page

• If you'd like your poem to be considered, send it to Poets' Corner. Evening News, Rouen Road, Norwich, NR1 1RE, or email eveningnewsletters@archant.co.uk.