When I was small and just a child
I wandered 'long these grassy trails –
Observed the milkweed and mullein
And saw life's tiniest details.
It seemed that then the plants and I
Were almost equal in our size –
And this afforded me a view
Of monarch eggs and damselflies.
And now so many years have passed
Since once I wandered through this grass.
My height is more a hindrance now
And eyes – less keen – preclude the sight
Of all the tiny precious life
That once provided great delight.
When eyes and mind are of a child,
They are more kindly blessed
Than present eyes – set high but dulled –
And mind worn down by stress.
Have years made wise the thoughts that pass
As now I wander through this grass?
Cannot as deep a truth be known
From contemplation of a stone
At a mountain's base
Than from ascending t'wards the sky
To such exalted view on high
Of grandeur and of space?
1999
(From the book Discoveries In The Dark by Doris Potter)
© Doris Potter
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