Night Skies, Sunshine, Falling Leaves, and Hub Pages - with Poem.

Odd how we manage to take things for granted. Like the marvelous things that occur every day. The breathtaking beauty of nature and the simple ability to observe and enjoy nature around us.

We seem to get caught up in the daily routines of life: working, shopping, laundry and other mundane household chores that seem to take up our time and become just generally annoying necessities.

The sunshine seems brighter than i remember it to be. And warmer than it was when my young mind was exploring for bugs, rocks and shiny object. As a child it was quite a pleasure to sit outside, under a shade tree to read or just stare off in a reverie of nothingness mixed with wonder about anything, everything and nothing, and drink in all the information i could about anything and everything that caught my interest.

School years were actually a pleasure for me, a veritable treasure trove of information to absorb. Unlike other kids my age, i spent way too much time alone. I started writing poetry and short stories when i first learned how to read and write. Just seemed the 'natural' thing to do. At the end of this reverie there is a poem i wrote when i was eight years old. One of the hundreds that compile my hitherto unpublished 'book of poems'.

My parents were simple, earthy folks who constantly tried to discourage me from writing and reading so much, and do something more 'normal' with my time, like other kids do. [Never could figure out just exactly what that meant]. I learned to hide to write my poetry, so my 'wasting of time - writing' didn't incur the wrath of my parents. My favorite time was away from the house, under a tree with the warmth of the sunshine, as my secret refuge, armed only with a book to read, and a pencil and a note book for companionship.

When i was a little older, in my teen years, and was allowed to sit outside after dark, i became enthralled with star gazing and the aurora borealis that was present just about every night in northern New England. This pleasurable activity brought me more questions and reasons for wonder. What were all those lights up there? Who turned them on every night? How come we could not see them during the day? What does it all mean?

Of course you have to realize that way back in those ancient times when i was a child, there was no T.V. to watch and the only thing we knew about the night skies was that it was illuminated by the moon, which was full size once a month, and uncountable lights we simply called "stars", - all of unknown origin.

Then life changed dramatically. I grew up, graduated from high school and entered the work force. Although my working adult years were interesting and financially rewarding, providing me with all the comforts i needed, i seemed to have lost something that i could never really put my finger on.

That is, until the day i retired. When i was not engrossed in work anymore; when i did not have to meet anyone else's expectations but my own, I started to remember all my thoughts and wonderment i had as a child, and set out on a journey to re-capture some of that excitement and wonder.

I got myself a book to read, and a note book and pen to jot down some thoughts, found a nice quiet spot under a tree to begin doing some reading and writing again. But it wasn't quite the same. I don't remember it being so dam hot, or this many dam bugs all trying to chew me up alive. Mosquitoes so big that it made me wonder how few of them it would take to actually grab onto me and fly me off to some horrible mosquito family dining room to serve me up as a meal for their family and friends. Like a giant luau for bugs. Ugh.

Wow, there goes one childhood memory down the crapper, and i must say with emphasis, good riddance (only because of those bugs). So i moved my sorry solitude-inous butt into the safety of my bug free den. Besides, now i had my trusty computer for companionship, and with just a click of the 'mouse' i could find all the knowledge and inspiration i needed to fill the void of that now defunct and defecated childhood memory. Plus, i had the added bonus of no one telling me i was wasting my time reading and writing anymore.

I have finally regained my childhood awe and wonder of sunshine (in moderation) and even greater wonder and awe from watching the History channel, the Science channel and the Learning channel when they air all the newly discovered wonders of outer space. And all this in the very comfort of my living room, with my feet propped up with the recliner footrest, pillow behind my head, my trusty remote control by my side and that other wondrous invention: the 60 inch, high definition, flat screen, television set. I can actually vicariously explore planets, moons, universes, galaxies and all the other beautiful wonders of nature, and share in the marvel of all the secrets that the universe can unfold.

Then i discovered hubpages.com. This was the icing on the cake. I could now share all my thoughts, discoveries, and poetry with the universe via the world wide web, and anyone else who cared, or dared, to stop and read them.

And i dream again, that if it is in fact possible, i might be able to return at a time in the future where i will be on a space ship and part of the glorious exploration of space that will eventually and inevitably be mankind's future.

It is just since i retired that i have re-gained a childlike awe of all those things we all take for granted. Perhaps because i have also realized that as i am approaching my twilight years, i need to savor all the beauty and marvelous wonders around me, just in case i develop the big "A" word (Alzheimer's) and the fact that death is rapidly approaching. Maybe i finally have learned the meaning of such phrases as "live one day at a time", or "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die", or since i am retired now and without fear of reprisal, or jeopardizing my livelihood, i can simply tell everyone, and everything, that irks me, to just "piss off".

But above all this i have regained my need to gather more knowledge, but with one grand exception. Today i find that, the more i learn - the more i realize just how much i still don't know.

Now as promised: My Poem written when i was 8 years old titled:"Come little leaves"

• "Come, little leaves" said the wind one day,
• come o'er the meadows with me and play.
• Put on your dresses of red and gold
• for summer is gone, and the days grow cold.
• Soon as the leaves heard the wind's loud call,
• down they came fluttering - one and all.
• Over the brown fields they danced and flew,
• singing the soft little songs they knew.
• Dancing and whirling, the little leaves went;
• Winter had called them and they were content.
• Soon, fast asleep in their earthly beds
• the snow laid a coverlet over their heads.

by: d.william 09/05/2010