POETRY: Another Spring

By Jim Atherton

God grant me grace that I might see another springtime here,
For I am so proud for to be – just a man from Lancashire,
Being born amidst its people fair, and amongst its hills so green,
There’s nothing finer that I swear than its rugged beauty to be seen.
For rising up from its millstone, grit we see nature everywhere,
And joyful scenes that do benefit, fair dreams that all can share,
So please grant me God another year, so that I may see once more,
Those springtime scene which I hold most dear, in the country I adore.
Nought up in heaven can ever be, than what we witness here,
As all around us what do we see? But your heaven in Lancashire.
So I beg you please let me see again, those springtime flowers gay,
And feel the warmth of April rain, then see blossoms in the May.
The mere hand of man could never make, all the beauty that we see,
And nought I say will ever shake the faith that we have in thee.
And so to you sweet praise we sing, for we hold you oh so dear,
I beg you please grant me one more spring in dear old Lancashire.