The Contrast

The evening sun casting its orange gold rays across the plain,

and the chill breeze starting its routine with small whirls of dust,

the tableau of actors that played their parts on the eternal stage,

going through the motions, as timeless as master time himself.

The moment interrupted by the arrival of a nonchalant visitor,

perky and impertinent, disruptive and yet blending into the milieu,

a silhouette full of life, a study in motion and a chorus of chirps,

that soon hushed up and the echoes faded away into the sunset.

It was into this picture that I wandered, an unintentional intruder,

and was caught up in the study of contrasts, a muted frenzy of calm,

a struggle between the regal serenity, the overwhelming grandeur,

and a bundle of energy too lively to be contained in a vessel of flesh.

And it was then I realized that this was nature’s way of a balance,

between the somber and vivacious, an eternal quirk in every frame,

never predictable, never the same, a surprise at every twist and turn,

a wonder that never ceases and a creation that seeks to inspire.

A Walk Through The Forest

In the growing dusk I walked out to explore the woods,

humming tunelessly for the trees that stood high and proud,

the black tar soon giving way to a broken half paved roads,

and all signs of life quietening in dark that fell like a shroud.

Soon, all I could hear was the sound of my solitary stride,

accompanied by snapping twigs as my feet slipped on the gravel,

my only friend my shadow that walked bravely by my side,

my companion through the years, one that I knew so very well.

The trees seemed to be urging me to stop and talk a while,

as their long leaves rustled and waved at me in the light breeze,

I stood and listened while they whispered in their own soft style,

but not a word of their secret could my weary mind even seize.

As the path disappeared into the spreading gloom ahead,

and a lone cricket decided to comment on my predicament,

I stood there and wondered where this path I was on lead

should I go on ahead or return to escape the night imminent.

And a calm settled over me as quiet as the darkening wood,

and I walked on ahead into the path that curved out of sight,

not caring where it went but staying on it as long as I could,

as the creatures came out and began their symphony at night.

Expectancy grew in my heart, I barely could see the path I was on,

each blind curve crossed revealing the last orange glow of the sun,

until I chanced on a light shining through the shrubs, a beacon,

and my quickening feet took me back to the place I had set out from.