Featured Poem: Lessons From a Gosling’s Journey

 

By Adrienne Reedy
Greenwich Branch

 

By the water’s edge, where tall grasses sway,

Two parent geese, in their protective way,

Guarded their two little downy, bright kin,

Sweet goslings, where their journey would begin.

So small, so fragile, a joy to behold,

A short tender story about to unfold.

Today, a sadness settled, a cold, quiet dread —

Only one fluffy gosling remained there instead.

A fox? A hawk, with a shadow so deep?

A tiny life lost as the world fell asleep.

I grieved for the little one gone from the nest,

So helpless and frail, truly put to the test.

The world is messy, and creatures, like us,

Grow from soft wonders to sometimes, a fuss.

These geese with their droppings, a nuisance, it’s true,

Yet that lone survivor, no doubt I’m rooting for you.

And it makes me consider how quickly we cast

Judgments on others, forgetting their past.

May I see the original intent in all beings, I pray,

 And not write off souls at the end of my day.