The picnic tree

Into town for a haircut and to pick up the ‘occupational’ glasses and then over to my friend’s. After a difficult week it was good to have a catch up in the garden having our coffee beside the bonfire and then retreating indoors for some lunch. On my way home I went for a quick walk at Aira and got a bit of a soaking in the beginnings of the storm.

When I Am Among the Trees - Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”