Of Summers Gone and Yet To come
Updated: Jan 15, 2022
A stoic knight without a name Watched over me in my younger days In a field where stood he near my home A silent sentinel who stood alone His armor was a gnarled bark His arms held high above my head Quelling rain and summer heat As alone played I on the earth beneath
His reach was broad and twice as high As if in prayer for rain and sun Protecting all who gathered round Within that field where he was born Sheltered beneath his canopy So thick with emerald greenery His vigil kept through silent nights Was watched as I switched off my lights
The summer wanes and varying hues Of gold, and red and autumn brown Reflect the sun and paint the field As emerald shade begins to yield Fading with the season's change Quake and shiver in the autumn winds Such a mournful clattering sound Too soon join the others upon the ground
Letting lose their grip, they fall The field takes on a golden glow Leaving bare his sheltering canopy He braces to gather falling snow Into the catching breeze they run And as they whisk around my feet In rustling voices softly speak Of summers gone - and yet to come
James Eichenlaub (2021)