Paradise On Earth Poem by John Knight

Friar's Crag on Derwentwater
Paradise on Earth for me
There's no place on this fair Planet
Nowhere - I would rather be.

Raised in sprawling Concrete Jungle
Back to backs in dingy rows
Noise - pollution dawn 'til evening
Nothing thrives and nothing grows.

Then by liuck a chance to travel
North to where the bracken grows
Cumbria - The Great Lake District
Heaven to the eye and nose!

Oh the sight of my sweet Keswick
Oh the beauty of the Lake
Oh the mystery of Watendlath
Oh the walks that we did take.

Friar's crag on Derwentwater
Oh how tranquil is the scene
Distant peaks of rolling Cat's Bells
Saint Herbert's Island in between.

Back into my Concrete Jungle
But the views stayed in my mind
Friar's Crag on Derwentwater
Oh how blessed was I to find.

Worldwide through the years I've travelled
Many thrilling sights I've seen
Canada - The Rocky Mountains
Pure New Zealand - so pristine.

Down the Rhine to see the Rhine Falls
Marvelling at Niagra's Force
The Garden route from lovely Cape Town
Scotland - Ireland - Wales of course!

All these sights that I've experienced
All the scents and all the sounds
Friar's Crag on Derwentwater
Still within my heart abounds.

Why this preference - so emotive
Is it still a childhood dream?
Am I being patriotic?
Scones with strawberry jam and cream.

For me it was a close encounter
With a scene so near - so far
From the squalor of my City
Ugly from the scourge of War.

When I first beheld the glory
Derwentwater - Friar's Crag
Opened were my eyes to beauty
God's ceation - like a flag.

Like a flag that was unfurling
To expose the bauty there
Friar's Crag on Derwentwater
Nothing can with her compare.

On the day I meet my maker
Angels ask my favorite view
Friar's Crag on Derwentwater
I will tell them 'I REMEMBER YOU'.

As a very special treat if you go to
www.visitcumbria.com/kes/friarcrg.htm
You will get a real glimpse of Paradise on Earth.

(John Knight - Colchester - October 2009)