Elizabeth Hayklan (nee Cochrane)

A Poet as well as an Artist

Elizabeth in "The Old House"
The Old House

Elizabeth Hayklan (1900-1995) was the author of two anthologies of poetry   –    “Family of verse” and  “Reflection,” as well as her book of pocket cartoons – “Impossible People.” We understand that the second title  “Reflection” is to be re-issued in 2012.

An example of her work concerning the demise of that historic building “The Old House”, where she and her family lived, follows :-

The Old House

On this sill leaned a dark haired queen,
A sailor looked with blue eyes keen,
Across a marsh with winds so clean,
Here a painter learned to dream,
This was their home.

It was sold for just a song,
Under concrete it has gone,
Laughter will not come again,
No firelight on the window pane,
Nor children’s cries.

We who loved her, gay or sad,
Have other homes to make us glad,
But where will look the dark haired queen?
Where will now the painter dream?
Or go the sailor with eyesight keen?
Or swallows make their nests unseen?

Surely there is something wrong,
When kindly ghosts who lived there long,
Have no place to roam,
Have no home.

Our thanks to Karina Hayklan for much of the above information.  Karina has written a biography of her mother, naturally entitled “Impossible People”, which she hopes will be published in 2012. Also in the same year, the fourth edition of her own poetry anthology “Shades of love” is due out.

For more information on this family and in particular the artistic career of Elizabeth click on  “Art and artists”

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