Barbara Lee:

A poem by Peter Osterhoudt, faithful member of our choir’s bass section, the other half of Prue, builder of things!. Peter wrote this for a dear friend’s wedding.

🙏Thankyou for the BEAUTY, Peter!❤️

 

- Share where wild forget-me-nots wade

along the edge of clear running water

where a great blue heron stands at sunrise

 

- Listen to the early spring morning

from your bedroom window,

the laughing brook and the birds in the meadows.

Look out and count the tender greens,

from pale of willow to dark of pine.

 

- Walk along the seashore on balsam carpets and green moss.

Smell the sweetness of the southwind

as it brushes across your faces

bearing a hint of rain.

 

- Listen to the chatter of the black-capped chicadee

as it flits among the topmost branches of the evergreens

and the marsh wren in her house

among the long grass.

 

- Paddle across a pond at evening

where ducks trail silver threads in their wake,

trout jump and fireflies appear above the water.

 

- See the loon

silhouetted against the setting sky

and hear his haunting song of magic.

 

- Bathe in the bright moonlight at timberline

watching the shadows cast by giant mountain peaks.

Lie on the sand at midnight

staring at the sky.

Feel the mystery of heaven

and the joys of earth.

 

- These are the things to remember.

 

PETER OSTERHOUDT (1988)