The Rivers of My Need

THE CALL OF LONG AGO

I see Spinning Wheels, Washstands, Halltrees,
Old Ice Boxes, Buggies, and Me
In Rustling Petticoats and High Button Shoes
And Ladies of Fashion in Parasol and Plume.
I hear the Ring of the Blacksmith's Anvil
And in the Air is the Tallow - they're making Candles!
At the General Store there are Soft Muslins and Silks
from which to Choose,
And there goes a Peddler, in Handmade Leather Shoes.

I Love the Smell and the Look of the Wood.
Oak, Cherry or Pine, if it's Old, it's Good.
See that Grand, old Four-Poster Bed
Where, after their Labors, they Lay their Heads?
See the Butter Churn over there?
It catches my Eye and I Stare.
I see a Mother Kneading Dough for her Family's Bread,
And Men Toiling, building Homesteads.

Smell the Chicken Frying on the Old Cookstove,
And in the Fields Corn and Hay Grow.
I see Quilting Bees, Pig Roasts and the County Fair,
And Suntanned Children with Golden Hair.
When I look Up I see You
In your Sunday Best and your Highly Polished Boots.
I hear Horses Hooves on Bridges of Wooden Planks.
I see the old Country Church where they Gave Thanks,
Back when Everyone Knelt Together to Pray
And at Sunrise Greeted each New Day.

Had it not been for Circumstance
We might have Lived Then, Perchance.
When Time Stood Still -
By Wonder, Not By Will.

The Rivers of My Need
By: Peggy Aston

THE SEASONS OF OUR LIVES

I remember Autumn and Shuffling through Leaves,
the Rustle of Scarlet and Gold, formerly Green.....
How we would play Hide and Seek,
and from Piles of Leaves we would Peek.

I remember Rolling Hills of Sparkling Snow;
up the Cable Cars in Winter we would Go
To a Destination way up High,
to our Location in the Sky.

I remember the World so Alive and Refreshed
when Spring would take our Breath
Away with Birds Singing in Rhapsody,
and the Earth new Life Bringing.

I remember Blue Skies
and radiant Blue Eyes,
When you held me Close
and we made a Toast
To Us,
Just Us.
It was on a Summer Starlit Night.
that was Before I Lost my Sight.

Now the World has taken on a Different Hue
and every Sound and Scent is Reintroduced by You.
And you Spur me On
to the vast New World Beyond.

I Hear the Leaves Rustling beneath our Feet
and Feel the Touch of your Hand as we Meet
The Seasons of our Lives,
together, You and I.

The Rivers of My Need
By: Peggy Aston

THE SUNSHINE SHIP

Some say Love is a Gift and it's Value Lost,
When it's not Shared - like Cake without the Frost.
Ponder with me for a Minute.....
The World, with No Love in it.

Imagine Love as an Island far out in the Sea,
Transient, Inaccessible, Wild and Free.
I know, for you and I Sailed there, in my Dreams.
And, sometimes, Dreams are a Direct Route to Reality.

The Isle of Love was as Near as a Sigh;
Eager, our Anticipation was High.
We were Joyous as our Ship rolled over the Waves.
Lifted up, we were Buoyant for many a Day.

Alas, the awaited Isle was in View.
You held me Close, as I Gazed at you.
The Scene before us should Not have been a Surprise.
While many were Happy, others had Tearful Eyes.

For many, the Reward was Worth their Wait,
And far Exceeded anything they could Anticipate.
For others, the Reward had been all too Brief,
Like shifting Sand beneath their Feet.

Let us Drift and Float for a long, long While,
In the Direction of that Fleeting Isle.
We may Sail into many Sunsets in the Sunshine Ship,
And we'll both be Losers.....if we Miss the Trip.

The Rivers of My Need
By: Peggy Aston