It was a summer’s day
It was a summer’s day,
I gazed at the sound,
I saw a cloud mass,
It looked like a mountain range,
Hovering there above the water.
I saw a ship floating, slowly by.
I knew the shipmates saw what I saw,
They did not see the empty terraces;
I smelled the flowers, the mint,
Meticulous gardens along the roadway.
I wondered: “Where are the folks”?
I love their homes, their prizes…
I thought: “if I lived there I would ne’er leave”,
Then, as if a sudden storm it hit me,
We men never appreciate what we possess,
It seems we are in constant pursuit.
For me, I would lounge on those sound front terraces forever,
Yet they remained empty, void of life…
I thought: “Maybe I could be a stand in”,
While the owners were off rambling;
I could hold the fort, their fort of paradise,
Still I knew, their terraces were part of my pursuit;
I could not wrestle them away…
It was just a summer’s day…
© Joseph James
7-2-11 all rights reserved
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