By the River
The frenzied city far away
Abandoned for a calmer day
Now relish Devon’s autumn hues
That gild the trees and tint the views
Blissful hours beside the river
A sudden gust; the branches quiver
A seedpod falls to float downstream
Borne by the water keen and clean
Perhaps to reach a distant sea
Via wooded banks and verdant lee
But soon to meet its voyage’s end
As stranded at the river’s bend
There to set its tender roots
At springtime force its own green shoots
And so its destiny, not sea
But to become a towering tree
To flourish where the river flows
And shed in turn its embryos
That spiral downwards to the flow
Along the current fast and slow
Ever reaching for the sky
As seasons of the year pass by
Thriving on the river’s bank
With others of its sylvan rank
The spreading canopy now shades
The springtime flowers in woodland glades
Thus Nature’s cycle is assured
And river gazers never bored
Copyright © John Mcgillivray | Year Posted 2019
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