FEELINGS OF ETERNITY

 

             

                    Have you ever heard
                    Of people having feelings
                    of Eternity?

I have read of it,
Now and then...
It happens most often
On mountain tops,
By the seashore,
Or around sand.

I've had feelings
Of Eternity
Before.

I know now that's
What it was.

That warm autumn afternoon
Down in sandy Dawson County
Out at Pop's Place,
Way back in the forties.

Standing there in his backyard,
Waiting for the others
To head for town
On a Saturday afternoon.

The sun was at an early
Afternoon angle...
The wind was blowing
Ever so gently...
But enough, to sway
The trees a bit
And rustle the ever-restless leaves.

Mom's roses, in the flower beds
Were happily drinking in the
Sunshine, and dancing
In the pleasant breeze.
Enjoying the fall...

Somewhere around in the trees
Birds were singing.

The shiny chrome milk buckets
Were hanging, and airing,
And swinging under the grape arbor
There in the backyard
Amongst still-ripening bunches
Of delicious-looking
Purple grapes!

The pigs were running loose.
Rooting around and making pig noises;
Big white chickens were roaming
About, puck-pucking, pecking, and
Looking for snacks.

The windmill, not thirty feet
From where I stood
Was pumping cool water up
Out of the sandy ground...
Making its lonesome
"Clung-clung" sounds.

Now and then, a gust of wind
A bit stronger than usual
Would cause a thin layer of
The beautiful reddish sand
To scurry and scoot across
Little banks and piles of sand
From previous winds---
With such grace and ease, that
It seemed to scoot with joy!

And I, leaning on Pop's
Old rock fence, my chin
Resting on my folded arms,
Waiting for the others---
Had this strange, mesmerizing
Feeling of peace and beauty...

          Maybe it was the wind---

          Maybe it was the light---

          Maybe it was the sand, sifting...

          Like the sands of time...

         Whatever it was...

          It seemed to me

That a piece of Eternity
Had fallen on Pop's Place
That day.

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BY MIL
5/12/13
Sent from my iPad