Aware

Aware
by Dale Garrow


I miss the long walks
Taken with my grandfather
Not talking as we walked along
The fields or winding roads
Mindful of our surroundings as we'd go
Learning without one class bell rung
He smiled amused and keenly
Aware.

Birds building their nests
With pieces of string or yarn
Woven with grasses or hay from our barn
Taught to leave them be
Let all things natural live he'd declare
Nodding my head, he smiled again
Aware.

He'd point out flowers and say their names
And teach me how to weave daisies
Into garland strings
In a stand of trees by a brook stream he'd teach
How to live off the land by eating the meat from fiddleheads
And the nuts and acorns
That had fallen from their trees.

As I grew older and with my daughter and sons
We'd go on long walks
And I taught them the things
My grandfather did so many years ago
To appreciate the nature all around them
Never to despair
Remembering the long walks with my grandfather
I found myself now smiling
As we walked along
Aware.