PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

I am an early riser…I get up while the heavens are still dark…

before the birds and animals come out to play…

before the night moves on and gradually gives way to the day.

But over the years being up at this time…while many are still asleep

has given me a wealth of memories I shall forever keep.

Take the other morning for instance…we were a handful of days before Christmas

when, on a cold and silent night…

the sky, though dark, was so clear every star was shining bright.

As I looked up at that magical sky…I was blessed with a wonderful sight

the trees that surround our cabin seemed decorated in star light. 

As I stood there bundled up…it was a mere 16 degrees…

It looked to me like a million fireflies were nestled in the trees.

Legend has it that Martin Luther was walking through the forest

(I’m sure…also trying not to freeze)

when he was struck by the beauty of the stars 

shining though the evergreen trees.

And he created this tradition…

that is still followed by your family and ours

when he brought an evergreen inside for his children

and decorated it with candles to represent the stars.

Standing outside this morning…looking up…I admit I was in awe

as I felt what Martin Luther must have felt…seeing what he saw.

It made me stand there a little longer…trying my best not to freeze

while watching nature prepare for Christmas…by decorating all her trees.

Yes…for years I rise early…as night gently and gradually gives way to day

and with memories like this to greet me…I would’t have it any other way.

 It was a beautiful wintery day in the mountains…(some days seem almost dreamlike)

when we decided to drive to the Oconaluftee Valley and take a mid-day hike.

This valley is one of our favorite spots in the mountains…

It’s where the Cherokee have left their mark…

and now serves as North Carolina’s main entrance 

to The Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

There is a hike we love to take…in the summer we’re in shorts

but today we’re in coats and jeans…

We hike through the woods by the river…

by the way…by the river is what Oconaluftee means.

It’s a peaceful walk…where we can stroll as slowly as we please

taking time to enjoy the music of the birds, the river and the trees. 

It’s an easy hike in the woods…where we slowly amble through…

stopping by the river every now and then to skip a stone or two.

If you’re lucky you may even see some elk…keeping your distance as they pass

through the trees to take a drink from the river…or to graze on the valley’s grass.

On this day we were lucky…we shared our hike with the trees an occasional bird

and not with one or two elk…but with their entire herd.

Most were grazing in the grass but up ahead of us was a beautiful female

who had finished grazing and stopped to rest by the river…

completely blocking the trail.

This meant our hike was cut a little short…because we are aware.

this is her home not ours….and we were merely visitors there.

But we did stop to take in the majesty of this herd

and to once again thank nature for allowing us to see

by her river, her trees and her elk…the beauty of her extended family.

The beauty of a hike in nature is once you’ve finished you want to hike some more

It matters not how many times you’ve hiked this path before.

Even if it’s on a trail by a river with a beautiful Cherokee name…

you find by the simple diversity of nature…no two hikes will ever be the same.

We love walking along the beach in the morning… 

as another day unfolds…

as the sun slides across the land

turning dark sand into gold.

It’s a special time of day…gazing out at the ocean deep…

watching nature awaken form her nocturnal sleep

We’re early enough so ours 

are the first human footprints left upon the shore… 

but not as early as the birds…

who have left their footprints here before.

We love the feeling of two people walking as one

enjoying moments without words…

where the silence is broken only 

by the crashing waves and the singing of the birds.

On our latest morning walk along the shore

we came across something we’ve never seen 

in all our walks along this beach before….

As we slowly made our way…

between the ocean and the dunes… 

in front of us…illuminated by the sun were round jellyfish

that get their name from their resemblance to the moon.

So, to the dolphins, pelicans, sea gull and egrets we always see

this morning we welcomed the moon jellyfish into our memory.

A walk together along the beach is always beautiful…

as the day begins to break…

because not only does it change every time we visit….

but with every step we take…..

Reminding us when it comes to surprises and wonders …

nature does not lack…

And it is precisely these ever-changing surprises and wonders…

courtesy of nature……that keeps us coming back.

May we be blessed throughout our life

whenever and wherever we can…

to find and enjoy places

that have yet to be rearranged by man

 Have you ever wondered why we were created?

if you haven’t take a moment to reminisce

and while you’re at it ask yourself 

why were we placed upon a planet as beautiful as this?

Why does the water call to us? Why along her shores do we love to stroll?

Perhaps she’s there to replenish our hearts…and help to soothe our souls.

Why do we walk in the woods?  Why do her trees and animals we embrace?

Could it be the forest asks for nothing….and moves at a much more leisurely pace?

Why does a sunrise, a sunset, a rainbow or face in the clouds make us smile.

Perhaps they are there so we can enjoy nature’s artistry if only for a little while.

Why do we love to walk among the flowers that paint the surface of the ground?

Perhaps every now and then we need to visit places where only beauty can be found..

Perhaps we love to frequent nature as often as we can because we find

nature lives by a different set of standards…than those set by humankind.

In nature you won’t find prejudice, no sexism…no homophobia permeating the air.

no abuse, no wars, no hatred, no bitterness…no racism anywhere.

Nature understands and revels in the fact that all her species are different…

yet still part of the same habitat.

She would never think to call her members names like ugly, stupid or fat.

Nature accepts and celebrates her diversity…she strives to keep all her creatures alive.

for she knows without this co-dependent medley…she would not survive.

Perhaps that’s why nature’s water calls to us…we walk in her woods

and stand in awe at every sunrise, sunset and rainbow that we see…

to remind us as we revel in her beauty…

to be the people we were designed to be.

 If you read my poems I’m sure you can tell by the words I use

how often my child and adult are uniting…

but there are times, like today, when the adult in me takes a break

and I let my child do the writing.

It’s not that I don’t appreciate his input (yes this is his child speaking)

It’s just that sometimes I’m not after the same answers he is seeking.

Take today for instance…outside it started to sprinkle 

and as I watched a butterfly visit flowers in this part of her domain….

I stopped to ask that butterfly, “Where do you go when it rains”.

I’m pretty sure the adult in me knew the answer

(There’s a book about butterflies he keeps upon the shelf)

but I preferred to get my information from the butterfly herself.

She said, “I usually looks for safe and dry places…the same places I like to sleep at night

In a hollow of a tree, under leaves…somewhere I can protect my leaves for flight.”

As the rain came down a little harder…she said, “Come and follow me!”

then she flew and found some refuge in a nearby blue spruce tree.

She said,  “We butterflies are lucky…Mother Nature has provided us a brain…

that allows us to find natural umbrellas that shelter us from the rain”.

As we spoke I couldn’t help but notice…although the rain had filled the sky

the needles she chose to hide under protected this butterfly.

She looked at me and smiled…the from the lips of the smartest butterfly I’ve ever met…

She said, “I notice how I’m up here high and dry…while you’re down there getting wet.”

I admit I felt a little embarrassed…when with laughter she couldn’t contain…

that little butterfly stopped to ask me…”Where do I go in the rain?”

Then she said, “It doesn’t matter…you are soaking wet I see…

and since it’s still raining why don’t you come and share this tree with me.”

So there I sat under the blue spruce tree…conversing with a butterfly

while the rain fell all around me…and only one of us was dry.

The adult in me would not have wanted to get wet…

would not have followed that butterfly into that blue spruce tree…

but this soaking wet child couldn’t help but think 

there is no place I’d rather be..

May you be blessed every now

to listen to nature’s call…

and follow the music of a stream

until you discover a waterfall….

to sit there for a while

and forget about everything….

as the only sound you hear

is how the flowing water sings.

There were times when I was young…when I got on my parent’s nerves…

when I did things they did not like…

when they wanted me out of their hair they might tell me, “Go take a hike”

Of course that meant to stop bugging them…to let them be…to go away…

to read a book, watch TV or go outside and play.

Now that I am older (perhaps a little wiser) and not so child-like

I find a different meaning in the words…”Go take a hike.”

The other day Deborah and I took a hike…as hiking goes it was small scale

in the Pisgah Nations Forest along the Moore Cove Waterfall trail.

It’s only a mile and a half hike from the trail head to the waterfall and back.

which means we only took our walking sticks and water…no need for a back pack.

On a hike up a mountainside…ending at the Moore Cove waterfall…

we walked among trees so tall and mushrooms and ferns so small.

Up stairs, atop boardwalks and on paths carved out over the years

this hike in the woods offered treats for our eyes, our noses, our ears.

We like to take our time on hikes…to enjoy the things if we walked fast we might miss

and since we’ve taken this hike before…to stop and reminisce.

As we slowly and gently climbed the stairs…and maneuvered over fallen logs…

we met other hikers…individuals and families with their children an their dogs.

It’s funny how we noticed …in fact we found this striking…

how the people we met along the way were in various stages of hiking.

The children all ran ahead…not bothering to look around at all…

their goal was not to hike but to get to the waterfall.

Their parents walked a little slower with their main goal

to make sure their children were safe all the way to the waterfall

And then there was Deborah and I…with no one to watch and so much to see

we were the slowest hikers of them all.

The waterfall was magnificent…cascading high above and sheltered from the sun

but for us the journey to reach that waterfall was filled with just as much fun.

I’m glad we’re older now…able to slow down when we walk and find so many things we like

We’ve changed a lot since those days our parents use to tell us…Hey kids, Go take a hike.

When you look at a field of sunflowers…even though they all share the same name

you quickly notice how no two sunflowers are the same.

How each sunflower has their own unique beauty…their own allure…their own appeal

How each sunflower’s beauty enhances the beauty of the field.

Sunflowers, raindrops, trees, leaves….are are all doing their best to reach us….

I wonder if we humans will ever learn…what nature is trying to teach us.