ENJOYING my usual evening walk, I paused to stand a while

And watch the baby rabbits play – their antics make me smile!

What seemed an empty hedgerow stretched along the winding lane,

But as I stood there silently I had to think again!

First came some busy buzzing bees and they were quite intent

On seeking honeysuckle flowers, drawn by their heady scent.

Then from the ivy popped a wren, a tiny perky thing,

And then landed a blackbird, too, and he began to sing

His own sweet song, full-throated, pure, as he was unaware

That I stood listening to the notes that filled the evening air.

The hawthorn swarmed with small black flies and then a ladybird

And several butterflies arrived – I smiled at how absurd

To think this hedgerow void of life; I’d been completely blind!

It teemed, it buzzed, it was alive with life of every kind!