Take a breath

I’m back. Sort of. I’ve been away, and getting back into real life is proving to be a struggle, including talking to you fair people. This was meant to be a long post about something completely different but I couldn’t get going, so I decided to share with you a poem that I wrote during my time off…

I’ve had some time off as I was busy converting nearly-wife to really-wife, and then we went on holiday as the conversion process can take a lot out of a person. Some people may call this marriage and honeymoon, but I say tomato and you say tomato (a sentence that makes no sense at all in print).

We decided to go off grid to really get away from it all, to spend some time just being together, and the place that we found to do it was perfect. We stayed at a little cabin in the woods of France, about 200km from Bergerac. It is an eco-cabin, which means it has minimal impact on the surroundings. There is a composting toilet, a wood burner to keep you warm and to provide warm water, and a few LED lights charged from a solar panel. No other electricity. There is no internet, no television and pretty much no phone signal. What there is is nature and all the time in the world to chill out, read and share some quality time.

Woodsman's tool on the left, witch's tool on the right - all fairytale folk welcome

Hand-built staircase - a work of art

The cabin is well-built, just big enough for two, with lots of homely little touches to make it feel cosy. It is full of things to do, with a well-stocked bookshelf, board games, painting materials, fishing equipment, a tandem (now there’s an exercise in communication), binoculars, walking maps, and a visitors information book with a wealth of places to visit. But the pièce-de-résistance (look, French!) has to be the setting. The cabin looks out on it’s own private lake, with a sturdy raft and a little boat provided, and to get to it you have to amble past the hammocks strung between the trees. 

The view from the veranda - a natural playground

In the whole time that we were there we didn’t see another soul (unless you count carp and frogs), apart from the owner, Diane (lovely lady), when she delivered fresh bread and pastries, along with some other select goodies, for our breakfast every day. We ate so well for breakfast each day we didn’t eat again until dinner. There is a food market in the nearby town that can provide some fabulous bread, cheese, and of course, wine. What more could you need?

The tranquility was amazing, especially drifting on the raft in the middle of the lake. The busyness of day-to-day life melted away and I, as so many visitors to the cabin before, was inspired to creativity. I crafted a poem, as is my way, and I share it with you below, but the sheer number of paintings, stories, poems and anecdotes in the visitor’s scrapbook was humbling. We looked at and enjoyed every one, and they all showed what an amazing find this place was.

If you ever have the chance to visit I would heartily recommend it. We left feeling refreshed, recharged and relaxed, and we were still talking to each other in spite of the Scrabble scores!

http://www.covertcabin.com (we were in Woodsman’s Cabin)

This is the poem that I left for my contribution to the scrapbook:

Take a breath

Take a breath

Inhale the tranquillity

Inhale the calm

Cover yourself

With the soothing balm

Of the peace of the cabin

Beside the lake

The perfect place

For a relaxing break

Take a breath

Switch off your phone

Leave the grid

Embrace nature like

You did as a kid

Cast off the raft

And float for a day

Let your troubles

Drift away

Take a breath

Look at the stars

Look at the trees

Build up a fire

As tall as your knees

Listen to the ‘bloip’

As the carp come to feed

Lay back in a hammock

Take time to read

Take a breath

Get to know the person

You love most in this world

Let your love blossom

Like a rose that’s unfurled

Re-learn what’s important

What’s precious in life

Remember why you

Became husband and wife

Take a breath