‘When All the World Seems New’ by Father Richard Libby

When, late in May, Memorial Day
____Inaugurates the season
Of summer sun and summer fun
____(Much welcomed, with good reason),
Then nature’s crowned with sight and sound:
____The sky is bright and clear,
The flowers’ blooms and birds’ bright plumes
____Proclaim that summer’s here.

The birds cheer on the coming dawn
____With songs that fill the skies.
The red and gold announce: “Behold!
____The sun’s begun to rise!”
The darkness fades and light pervades
____A sky of wat’ry blue,
And people rise and op’n their eyes
____To greet a day so new.

The flower beds boast whites and reds
____Against a backdrop green.
The insects come and go, and hum,
____Contented and serene.
The flowers call the insects all
____With color and perfume,
And they respond, for they are fond
____Of nectar from the bloom.

As winds grow strong, and shadows long,
____The sun sinks in the sky;
As wind-chimes ring, cicadas sing
____An evening lullaby.
The mockingbird, at times, is heard
____On still and humid nights;
Each girl and boy awaits with joy
____The coming day’s delights.

September days and autumn haze
____See weather turning cool,
Vacations end and parents send
____Their children back to school;
Yet we’ll recall, throughout the fall
____And in the winter, too,
The sun’s bright rays on carefree days
____When all the world seems new.

Father Richard Libby is a priest of the Diocese of Corpus Christi.