Homage to ‘The Peace of Wild Things by - Wendell Berry

When the noise of the world becomes too much

filling my head with uncomfortable thoughts

and my belly with fear of what the future might hold,

I will take a walk along the shores of the Forth.

And if I am feeling brave

I will shed the trappings from my feet

and step where the water rushes over the cold sand.

Each thrust of the ocean

washing icy diamonds across my naked toes.

I will concentrate until I can feel

the breath of the wind in my chest

and hear the pebbles

moving up the beach.

Dulcet tones

that sing

on the turning

of the tide

an aria

that rises

and falls with

the rhythms of the moon.

I will join the Oyster Catchers

with their bright red legs wading in the wake,

stabbing at the gritty ground with their sharp orange beaks,

unencumbered by thoughts of tomorrow.

Their focus is in the here and now

and what juicy morsels they might find.

I will search too,

in amongst the glistening, iridescent green, detritus of the sea,

I might find treasures with once sharp edges,

now worn smooth by time and the caress of the sea.

Until suddenly the oyster catchers take flight.

A flurry of black, white and red

against a cool blue sky

and I will feel the soft breeze

from their feathers brush my skin

and I will awaken having found peace

in a wild thing.