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Treasure Trove
There’s treasure in the words we say,
The words we read, the words we write;
There’s treasure in each dawning day,
In sunlit glow and dark of night.
There’s treasure in a landscape view,
In rivers, trees and mountain peaks;
There’s treasure in a sunset’s hue,
In listening when our planet speaks.
There’s treasure in all things alive,
In flying fish and jumping hares;
There’s treasure in a buzzing hive,
In winter’s hibernating bears.
Do not be fooled by precious stones,
Or wads of freshly printed cash,
For Mother Nature shapes and hones
Our world for free on Life’s wild dash.
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Paul A. Freeman is the author of Rumours of Ophir, a crime novel which was taught in Zimbabwean high schools and has been translated into German. In addition to having two novels, a children’s book and an 18,000-word narrative poem (Robin Hood and Friar Tuck: Zombie Killers!) commercially published, Paul is the author of hundreds of published short stories, poems and articles.
Very well said and a good reminder as I drink the first coffee of the day while waiting for the sun to come before heading out into the world of commerce.
I must remind myself, sometimes.
Coffee and sunrise for me are reserved for the weekend, but you’re right, they’re to be treasured.
Beautiful portrayal of nature and the gifts we have to treasure.
Thanks, Roy. We often forget how much we should be thankful for as we get wrapped up in the trivialities of life.
Reminds me of some of Wordsworth’s musings. Well done.
What an honour you’ve bestowed on me, Terry. Wordsworth is about my favourite poet. I always have a volume of his work handy.
The structure and the rhymes are perfect here. I think we should recognize that the ABAB quatrain is absolutely crucial in formal English poetry. It is our regularly employed, go-to tool of expression. Repeating “There’s treasure in…” four times becomes the scaffolding of the entire piece.
A bit of a departure from my usual fare, I was trying for a piece that would fly off the tongue with a simple, universal message.
Thanks for reading and for your observations, Joseph.