Autumn - Conker Hunting at Kirkstall Abbey

 picture courtesy of 
 http://www.leeds.gov.uk/kirkstallabbey/

A Sunshine Autumn Day to Play at Kirkstall Abbey.


Across the field ahead of us, a ghostly playground lies,
where fingers of dark granite point to copper, autumn skies.
We'll play amongst the ruins of a creepy haunted place;
where thorns on brambles grab us in a witch’s cold embrace.

Tendrils try to catch us so we crawl by on our knees,
then run towards the Abbotts cell, just by the conker trees.
The black of Rooks and Ravens, are they witches in disguise?
They watch us very closely with their beady, shiny eyes.

A north wind nips and pinches us with very icy fingers.
It gives us all our rosy cheeks and causes us to shiver.
Pulling on our coat hoods, we pretend to be like monks.
But if we really saw one, we would run and do a bunk!

We hide behind some bushes and hope we will not spy,
a very hairy, scary monk, with glowing big red eyes.
One stare and we’ll be turned to stone, and so we look away,
maybe we’d feel braver if we came another day.

Children shouting cheerily, we’re playing hide and seek,
hiding round the tombstones when we hear an eerie shriek
“Shush! Listen now!”We hear a sigh… is it a ghostly nun?
Then a creak,  a footstep, from a great big red eyed monk?

We all stop, scared and nervous, then looking at each other,
little Philip runs away, the coward who’s my brother.
He bravely swore he’d get the monk, and fight him face to face
He said he’d got his cowboy gun with all its caps in place.

“I thought we came for conkers.” shouts sister Caroline
From the bottom of a nun’s grave, deep and soft moss-lined
The Abbey house museum clock announces time to go.
Three rosy cheeked heroes, kicking leaves, aim for home.

And so we leave behind the monk with glowing huge red eyes.
He isn’t dead, but next time we will take him by surprise!