Welcome Stranger
The town is a buzz
Has been for a while
Hosting The UCI Road World Championship
Is a big deal
New colours
New faces
New languages
Interesting people
To speak with
Share with
Cheer with
To make welcome
Sadly not everyone welcomes
It is a weakness amongst some
To be ungracious hosts
No outsiders welcome here
“We built it
It’s ours
Go Back To Where You Came From”
Their grasp is firm
Their grip kills
Joy
Generosity
Kindness
Openness
A grip controlling
Their World
For fear others
Strangers and Strange Ways
May
Change it
Denying them hard won spoils
Refute their claim
We met it
Many years ago as new comers
Eggs thrown at our windows
Rebuffs by neighbours
The kids met it at school
Other outsiders our only welcome
Thankfully not all are like this
Those who hold the old ways tight in their grasp
Are a dying breed
More and more new life blows strangling sighs away
With these Strangers came strange ways
With some inconvenience
Roads closed at times
Access denied
Traders may have missed a few sales
They grumble
But many others
Found the pleasure
In
Staying home
Spending less
Entering in togetherness
Indoors
Outdoors
Cheering Champions
Meeting
Greeting
Welcoming
Sitting back
Watching the show
Too soon the carnival moves on
We return to everyday life
The better for having experienced
The better for having shared
The better for having risked
Involvement
In 1869 the largest gold nugget recorded
Was found in Ballarat, Victoria
Named ‘The Welcome Stranger’
I am certain it brought both pleasure and pain
We need to openly
Welcome
Share
Invite
Involve
Others
Outsiders
In Cities
In Lives
In Churches
In Nations
In Everyday
For how it strengthens
For all it teaches
Of the world beyond
And all it brings to our door
So they may hope
So we may grow
Words © Denise Stanford 2010
Photographs © Ken and Denise Stanford 2010
Within the Vine 