A Wealth of Nature

Francis Forrest, Earby

On an average daily cycle ride,
One sees many creature which normally hide.
For nature is wary of contact with man,
And tries to avoid him if it possibly can.

Still the silent swiftness of my machine,
Allows me to see without being seen.
I come across rabbits in playful mood,
Sometimes a dozen or more in a brood.

A weasel flashes across the road,
In a frantic dash to reach his abode.
Then up in the trees, a short way along,
There, a lush voiced thrush bursts into song.

A squirrel, fast as a flash of light,
leaps from a branch and out of sight.
Taking his time as he searches the grass,
See our gardeners’ friend, the hedgehog, pass.

Though I’ve not been far this particular day,
What a wealth of nature came my way.
I’d have missed it all/been poorer by far,
Had it been my misfortune to have gone by car.