Poem: Shades of Green

Photo by Rita Bourland © 2013 Brown County

Shades of Green 

Shades of green,

Our Maker’s blend,

Lie upon the trees

And grass,

A palate of colors

That shift and change

Like a kaleidoscope

Casting doubt on what we see,

An early dawn patrol

Of soldiers standing tall

Frozen at full attention

Guns held still at their sides,

 
Or just a field of trees
In careful, measured rows,

Where birds can nest

And folks can rest

Beneath their gentle branches,

Our Maker mixes shades of green

And grows the trees from seeds,

Away from all the sounds of war,

He leaves us

Only peaceful

Scenes of summer.

One Act Play: Daydreaming

Photography by Rita Bourland © 2013

Girl:  What’s a daydream?

Mother:  It’s a dream we have in the middle of the day when we stop thinking about now and start thinking about other things we’d like to be doing.

G:  What‘s the matter with thinking about now?

M:  There’s nothing the matter with thinking about now, but sometimes people need a little escape from the everyday things they have to do.

G:  What kind of everyday things?

M:  Oh, you know, like going to work, paying bills, mowing the lawn, going to the grocery, and doing the laundry

G:  So, a daydream is kind of like taking a vacation?

M:  Yes, kind of like that.

G:  Maybe people could try to have more fun in the now.

M:  How do you think they might do that?

G:  Well, for starters, they could take a bike ride or have a picnic in the backyard.  Or maybe they could do some coloring or painting, or tell stories to each other before bedtime.

M:  I like those ideas.  What else?

G:  They could order pizza for a whole week and not worry about going to the grocery!

M:  Do you think they might get sick of pizza?

G:  Maybe, but there are so many kinds.

M:  So, do you think we shouldn’t daydream?

G:  I guess it’s okay to daydream, but sometimes, when the teacher is making us recite the multiplication tables, I think about how I wish I was flying a kite, and then when she calls on me I don’t know the answer.

M:  So, maybe we need to do the things we have to do and try to have some fun in the now, but also reserve a little time for daydreaming. 

G:  Yeah, I think that’s good.  So, mom, what do you daydream about?

M:  I daydream about all the fun I’m going to have with my little girl when school gets out this summer. 

G:  Now, that’s my kind of daydream.