First Frost

Daughter, speak of your pain
and I will speak of mine.
At the end of the day the sun will set
and the moon rise; the earth revolve,
tides turn and birds build their nests.

Castigate yourself –
walk on hot coals
for words unsaid,
deeds undone.
Kid yourself
it would have been different
if only ...

Look only to the sky,
see the swallows going home.
Realise you are no more than a pawn
in this journey we call life;
heartbreaking, exciting,
frightening, incomprehensible.
It is each of these, and more.

From the tiniest fish to the brightest star –
all that lives, breathes or simply exists,
has its place in the grand scheme of things.
The skylark will constantly trill as it rises,
the swan will sing its own lullaby
and frost will always nip the bud
that appears before its time.