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Once a Nursery Rhyme

April 14, 2018 by john marshall Leave a Comment

Photo by Randi Hausken

I hold my head and wonder,
An oasis of beauty opens in front of me,
Marshland, wetland
How little there is left.

Tall deep pink flowers, foxgloves,
Where is the fox? Long gone,
Stretch out through the now dryish land,
A color that will draw a happy gaze.

At the far end of the little still-a-swamp space
The trees begin, twisted and bending
This way and that
Reaching for a used to be clear sky.

Calmness, grace, and peace
Cloak the marshy grass
And a blue heron squawks
her Guttural cry as she makes her way by.

And just a little bit away
I watch the man find a board
And an exposed drift log
On this beach of dreams.

He places a young girl
On one end of that balanced board
And a little boy joins in
At the other end.

Seesaw Seesaw. Up and down
Goes my life as I try to find my balance
ln this wounded world
Where each day grows warmer.

The man laughs as he pushes the girl down
And the little boy rises higher
And then he pulls her up
And the boy sinks to the sand.

Seesaw. Seesaw. The World whirls madly,
Searching for the balance it had before,
We look at each other and smile
The football game is about to begin.

I wait for the rain

Filed Under: Nature, ULE

About john marshall

John Marshall returns to the Oregon coast, having lived here back in the seventies. With the ocean hemming him in for now with all her wild beauty, he finds himself often looking over his shoulder, sometimes apprehensively, wondering where we are going and what we are thinking, and whose world is this, anyway?

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Readers’ Comments

  • Watt Childress April 28, 2025 at 11:48 am on Uncle Zech’s Amphibious GestaltAlso, you inspired me to insert a sentence crediting Hoyt Axton with the song's genesis. Many thanks!
  • Watt Childress April 27, 2025 at 10:55 pm on Uncle Zech’s Amphibious GestaltThank you kindly Jim for reading this and commenting. I enjoyed your review of "Sun House" by David James Duncan,
  • Jim Stewart April 27, 2025 at 8:26 pm on Uncle Zech’s Amphibious GestaltNice! Hoyt Axton wrote the Jeremiah song and sang it with great gusto. Life wanders on and I'm still glad
  • Watt Childress April 26, 2025 at 3:51 pm on Uncle Zech’s Amphibious GestaltDuring spring I think of you, and all the May Pole celebrations you've organized over the years. So grateful for
  • Watt Childress April 26, 2025 at 3:18 pm on Uncle Zech’s Amphibious GestaltIn my dreams I sing to the multitudes, with a voice as clear and sweet and churchy as Lou Reed.
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