True Nature # 2

True Nature # 2

RED BERRIES

Red Berries grow
In abundance
On the holly bush
As the snow falls
Nature’s bounty
On the bough
Mother Nature
Stocking her Larder
For the long bitter
Winter to come

WHITE BERRIES

White berries grow
In abundance
On the mistletoe
As the snow falls
Nature’s bounty
On the bough
Mother Nature
Stocking her Larder
For the long bitter
Winter to come

RED BREASTED ROBIN

Red Breasted Robin
Sitting on the fence
With snow falling
God that bird is dense

Sitting out there exposed
Out in all weathers
Trying to look cute
As it freezes its feathers

True Nature # 1

BENEATH THE FOREST CANOPY

Beneath the forest canopy
In the Emerald darkness
Of the ancient wood
It was refreshingly cool
But shadow soon gave way
To the dappled shade
Where the sun pierced
The leafy veil
Littering the floor
With Golden discs of light
And when the forest thinned
We came upon a Deer
Grazing in a forest glade

IN THE DEW FRESH MEADOW

In the dew fresh meadow
I watch the dawn’s first rays
Appear to evaporate the mist
In the majesty of Autumn days

STUNG BY HAIL AND RAIN

Stung by hail and rain
And colds numbing bite
And cut through like a knife
By the east-wind’s spite

THE SUN BURNS BRIGHT ABOVE THE BLUE

The sun burns bright above the blue
From above the clouds up high
Shining brightly through the rain
Painting rainbows across the sky

MOONLIGHT GLINTS

Moonlight glints
On the silent vales
Dressed crisply
In winters cloak
Lying like rippled silk
On the frozen land

THE WONDROUS BEAUTY

The wondrous beauty
Of your pale white skin,
That seductive landscape
Pure as exotic silk
Fresh as winter snow
And as cold as your heart

THE WIND WHISTLES

The wind whistles
The frozen rain bites
And the chill runs deep
And we must escape
To shelter safe inside
Where the barn owls sleep

THE HEATHERS CLOAK THE HILLSIDE

The Heathers cloak the hillside
And Buttercups dot the meadow
The Bluebells carpet the woods
And Orchids pepper the hedgerow
In an understatement of radiance
Where the wild flowers grow

LITTLE BIRD BRING TO US

Little bird bring to us
Your sweet song
Bring it cheerily
With the spring
To the woodland
And to the meadow
And with your
Sweet melody
Usher in another
Blessed summer

THE SAVAGE NATURAL SCENE

The savage natural scene
In the winter meadow
Where the Falcon feeds
His talons red in the snow

BENEATH THE LEAFY CANOPY

Beneath the leafy canopy
Moonlight pierced the darkness
And shafts of lunar light
Like a brilliant laser show
Illuminated the forest floor

THE SUN RULES IN DAYLIGHT HOURS

The Sun rules in daylight hours
Shining light across the shadow
The Moon rules over the tides
In their perpetual ebb and flow
But God rules in the heavens
In benevolence over all below

TIGER, TIGER, BURNING BRIGHT

Tiger, Tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night
Poachers perform their rite
And leave a bloody sight

WINTER MAIDEN

Winter maiden
Draped afresh
In a pure white
Unsullied cloak
Hugging her contours
Uncorrupted
In its perfect purity
Her Pristine draperies
Like crisp white linen
Lying undisturbed
Natures maiden
In her winter coat

A NATURE SELECTION

IS IT THE ANGER OF PETULANT GODS?

Is it the anger of petulant Gods?
In their Olympian Penthouse
Exploding their volcanic wrath
Down a molten hillside
Or an angry planet
From deep within
Trying to cleanse the earth
Of it’s unworthy guardians

AUTUMN LEAVES ARE GATHERING

Autumn leaves are gathering
Golden in the hedgerows
As the sun sits lower in the sky
Shadows lengthen across the landscape
Heralding winters approach

ABOVE A MOONLIT MEADOW

Above a moonlit meadow
The stars begin to shine
As I plight my troth in earnest
And hope to make you mine

AMIDST THE REEDS AND RUSHES

Amidst the reeds and rushes
Dragonflies hover by the river still
Where the weeping willows
Drooping branches spill

IN THE WATER MEADOW

In the water meadow
The Mayflies pirouette
On gossamer wings.
A pair performs a duet
As they dance their
Ephemeral vignette

THROUGH GREEN-WOODS AND MEADOWS

Through green-woods and meadows
The happy travellers wend
Along the meandering river
Until they reached journeys end

BUSY BEE

Under a sky of periwinkle blue
The honey bee sips the morning dew
Then she spends the daylight hours
Humming amidst the meadow flowers

Abiding Nature

EERIE MISTS

Eerie mists of the dawn
Hug the land like a cloak
Till they melt away

PINK CONFETTI

Dancing on the breeze
Cherry blossom pink confetti
Tells the spring tale

SUMMER RAIN

It rained an hour ago
Short and sharp
Now in its wake
The air is clean, fresh
Summers rich scent
Heavy in the evening air
And from the tree tops
Moving gently in the breeze
Undelivered rain drops fall
Like a maidens tears

EARLY MORN

Stepping into the garden,
The wet grass beneath my feet
Everywhere fresh with morning dew
The air honeysuckle sweet
The dew drops glistening,
The sunlight weakly warming
It’s so good to be alive
At the dawn of another morning

FLAKES OF GOLD

Dancing on the breeze
Magical flakes of gold
Tell the autumn tale

LINGERING AUTUMN

In the forest,
The skeletal trees
Herald winters imminent approach
But for now
The autumn lingers
But the fruiting brambles bushes
Will soon feel winters icy fingers
On the leaf carpeted floor
Life continues
And the forest creatures
Go about their work
For today it is still autumn
And tomorrow is another day

JACK FROST

On the north winds edge
Jack Frost rides the icy crest
And winter follows

NORTH WIND

The north wind blows in
Leaving winter in its wake
Till spring reawakens

FATHER FROST

Father Frost, with icy fingers
Holds winter in his frozen grasp
And spreads it wide across the land
Till it wears his thick winter cloak

WINTERS GRIP

The snow has settled on us
Like a shroud.
Each day growing deeper
Silence fills the emptiness of the landscape
But for the ghostly sound of the wind
High in the tree tops
The meadows and fields have vanished
The river flows mute beneath the ice
The next valley is unreachable
The mountains as unattainable as the Moon
But soon spring will release the land
From its icy captor
And the winter we be no more
Than remembered conversations
Beside the roaring hearth

NATURAL VERSE

FALL FESTIVAL

The summer comes to an end
Sooner than anyone believes
And so begins autumns festival
Of dancing painted leaves

LAZY SUMMER

Wildflowers in the meadow
The lark up in the sky
The days are long and languid
The land is warm and dry
The lazy days of summer
Just pass you slowly by

THE AMBLING STREAM

The early morning sun
Glints on the ambling stream
Where the Kingfisher hunts
And lovers go to dream

THE CRUEL SEA

In the sunlight it flatters to deceive
But don’t be fooled by its calm exterior
For beneath the welcoming surface
You will succumb to its true nature

Its lures you into a false sense of security
Its intent is to drag you to its depths
Sap your strength, every ounce of energy
And squeeze from your body every breath

She will let you surface for a breath
Then drag you down again out of reach
Then when she has toyed with you enough
She dumps you lifeless on the beach

LONG LAZY SUMMER DAYS

Long lazy summer days
Collecting shells along the shore
Long lazy childhood days
I wish them back once more

SPRINGTIME

SPRING

As spring comes around again
With its abundant falling rain
The rolling hills of luscious green
Are most pleasing to be seen
And with the renewal of spring
The heart lifts as if taking wing
When Daffodils break through
And spring flowers of every hue
Is their a better time on earth
To feel wealth of natures worth

REFRESHING SPRING

Refreshing spring
The season of renewal
When nature will release
Her early jewels

THE HIGH MELT

The high melt waters rush
Feeding springs annual event
As over the ancient rock
Water tumbles effervescent
As it heads inexorably to the sea
In its headlong descent

THE HILLSIDES IN MAY

No finer sight the eye will see
Than the hillsides in May
A carpet of green spread out
So as to take your breath away

THE THROWS OF SPRING

Its spring time
When beauty is released
Like a hand stitched
Patchwork masterpiece
Nature shows off
Her spring time finery
Spread like a throw
Over all you see

THREE SEASONS IN A WEEK

It was a bracing walk
The sun shone brightly on the lake,
A weak autumnal sun,
Bright but un-warming
And a light wind stirred the branches
Of the leafless weeping cherry tree
And added to the chill
The familiar pair of resident ducks
Bobbed on the choppy surface
Seemingly oblivious to the cold
Mist on the distant mountains
Hinted at what was to come
By the time I pushed open my front gate
I was suitably refreshed
And glad to be home

That night the storm hit
A storm that began as a hurricane
Far out across the ocean
Then as it hit the land
It was merely a tropical storm
When it got to us it was just a storm
But what a storm it was
Thick black clouds turning day to night
It rained and promised to rain even more
Inches and inches of rain
Large gray drops ran down the bare trees
And splashed on the grey waters of the lake
Bouncing off the green and brown backs
Of the resilient swimming ducks
The Hurricanes remnants
Took three days to pass
And left the lake considerable deeper
.
In the calm after the storm
We basked in the warmth
Of a bonus summers like day
Left in the tropical storms wake
The two ducks swam lazily across the still water
Bees were out looking for flowers
Ants crawled around in the grass,
Adding to their winter stock of food.
And squirrels chattered away
As they searched for acorns and pine nuts
And ran amongst the shadows
Of the dogwood trees
A blue heron flew to the very top
Of the leafless weeping cherry tree
Doubtless lost in the storm
It spent the day recharging its batteries
And getting its bearings
Later it joined the ducks on the water
Obviously to ask directions

The next day summer had gone again
And autumn had returned
The day began with an overcast sky and chilly breeze
Later as I walked for a while beside the lake
It had become a warm and sunny day.
Warm of course, is a relative term
It was above freezing, just
The sun was bright; the wind light but cold
All was silent, the waters calm
A duck slept in the shadow
Of the leafless weeping cherry
The other was close by but silent
And the blue heron was perched,
Motionless, on the top of the bare dogwood
Before it launched itself
And after circling the lake once it was on its way
The squirrels were hiding
I saw no bees searching for flowers
And the ants were out of sight

Winter arrived yesterday
With heavy snow falling in the morning
Then the skies cleared
And the temperature plummeted
Today the landscape wass even more beautiful
And the lake was frozen
The ducks were no where to be seen
I don’t know where they go
But they always come back
The ground is crisp under foot
And it is very very cold
The squirrels were the only creatures I saw
And they were happily raiding their stores
Feasting on acorns and chasing around
I decided it was too cold for me
And headed for the fireside
To reflect on this week’s abundance of seasons

DECEMBER

December’s wind is bitter
December's moon is cold
December's gem is turquoise
December’s year is old

December’s sun is cool
December’s water is ice
December’s number is twelve
December smells of spice

December’s season is winter
December’s green is holly
December’s season is festive
December people are jolly

December’s shops are full
December’s shows are on
December’s drink is eggnog
December smells of cinnamon

December’s days are short
December’s nights are long
December’s tone is joy
December sings a Christmas song