Tis forever this way
As we go, day by day
'Hurry here', 'scurry there', grieve and toil;
True, while work is our lot
Still I thought me a thought
To take time for a stroll o'er the soil.
With a book in my hand
My gaze happened to land
On a tree, with its branches low-spreading
Then quick to my mind
Flew a moment in time
From my youth, so with book to tree heading.
From my vantage of years
Truly now I hold dear
These rare moments when leisure is mine
While the tree seemed to call
With the zephyr of fall
"Pray, make use of this afternoon fine!"
So for part of a day
While the leaves swirled and played
I became but a child again
And that tree gave me flight
On that fall day so bright
From the cares and the worries of men.
-Americana Vignette
November 14, 2013