Wildness

When the dawn was young the wild geese took to wing
Soared above the stubble fields of harvest with their honking
Red tailed hawk exercising pirouettes below
Then soared on high pursued there by a pair of cawing crows

A herd of morning deer gathered at the forest edge
Alert and twitching nervous ears beneath the swaying umbrage
The icy touch of January drifted through the field
While thrifty field mice searched for seeds of morning meal

I walked along the fence line marking movement with a hound
Observing nature’s wonders and listening to the sounds
A far woodpecker tapping Morse code with his beak
A querulous squirrel still chattering complaints too harsh to speak

Things like this I live for, listening to the warnings
Of wild and secret creatures on my walks at morning
Long ago I was set apart from this noble band
But there is wildness in my heart although I am a man