YoungNature

 YoungNature©2023TonyFallon0316

In spring the flowers came on the furze and I held your hand in mine

And picked Mrs. Kelly daffodils in the shadow of a pine

We fished with fake rods in the river but never caught a pike

We walked for hours each summer day neither of us owned a bike

We smelled the blooming heather and heard the skylark in the bog

And saw the mass of frogspawn eggs left in the pond by a frog

We often saw mother ducks or pheasants pretend to be distressed

Acting like her wing was broken to lead us away from her nest

During the long summer days we often heard the odd corncrake

And saw the young swans swimming who were born on the local lake

They say our visiting summer swallows may have flown from Cape Horn

The young ones were not the only emigrants who were Irish born

We saw and admired as each species struggled for survival

How birds nests build up high saved eggs from an animal rival

As we observed the birds and animals our knowledge increased

And we often saw the love and kindness of the wild beast

Of course no lions or tigers in our parish did circulate

And foxes badgers or rabbits did not try to intimidate

Who can forget the bleating of weaned lambs trying to recover

Much like the loneliness of a broken hearted human lover

The lovely odor around your house from your mother's garden plots

Or the roses and other flowers my mother grew in pots

The golden wind blown fields of the annual wheat and oats

The pure white of shorn sheep the bleating of the farmers goats

Often on a summers evening when the weather had been hot

We would chase after rainbows for the leprechauns golden pot

All year round we played outside in that we were consistent

The rain did not bother us we must have been water resistant

There were no TV's radio's or any other thing electric

We measured in feet and inches we had not yet heard of metric

We walked to school together many people thought we were sibs

And to keep other boys at bay I often told outright fibs

In my brain I knew you were a winner and you filled up my heart

I knew love was happening I was lonely when we were apart

Alas those great days are gone we just have memories of then

And though we may wish they would return they shall not come again

You know I wanted to kiss you often but there was no invite

Now I realize there is no prize for being too polite

Then a ticket came from America and like a bird you've flown

I thought we'd work the two farms together but now I'm all alone