Editor’s Note: This article is a part of our “From the Archives” series. The series highlights articles, stories or news snippets from the CRL publication archives that are still relevant or thought provoking for us today.
Below is a poem shared in the April 1982 Catholic Rural Life magazine titled “Respite”.
Work-weary, I slipped away this afternoon
to nearby timber, lush with spring’s gifts;
walked lightly on springy mulch
of last year’s leaves and this year’s ferns.
I saw my favorite hillside, carpeted
with wild flowers, white and blue,
nodding in dappled sunshine
beneath the elms and hickories.
Berry bushes in full bloom
gave promise of summer treasures.
Overhead a bluejay screamed;
I had invaded his sanctuary.
Blackbirds and sparrows swooped
from tree to tree, quite unconcerned.
God has strewn signs of His presence here
with loving abandon for all to share.
I gathered a sampler of blossoms
for my kitchen table, refreshing reminder:
white spring beauties, sweet Williams,
violets, trillium, and wild crabapple blooms,
with fragrant ferns for greenery.
I viewed one rare, delicate yellow violet
and brought it home only in memory.
My half hour of reverie ended, I climbed the
fence and crossed the road, returning
to daily chores and common grass to mow,
remembering, as I resumed my work:
This side of the road is God’s world, too.
