Hope in the Meadows

So peaceful and calm it is today, As down the path I gingerly tread; A dappling sunlight makes its way Through branches high above my head. Rooks above now circle and wheel - And there, a pair of kites gently glide; From distant hazy Wolds they’ve flown, So graceful they look, so dignified. Now by the church I stand and hear, The church bells chime the noon-tide hour; And under the lychgate now I pause To watch the martins circle the tower. Gardens with colours and scents suffused, With tulips red and hyacinths blue - And cherry blossom greeting spring, ‘Tis this that doth my life renew. Was winter’s event, grotesque and grim, A bizarre ordeal, a fateful sign? Alarming affairs foreboding they are - But now, at last, the sun doth shine. So peaceful and calm it is today, As down the path I cheerfully tread; I see the sky of deepest blue, Through cherry blossom above my head. This was a poem occasioned by a stroll in the spring-time sunshine at the end of the first month of ‘lockdown’ (with more to come) confined to house and garden, or short walk for exercise. But at the time of writing the sun was shining strongly out of a deep blue sky (never seen so blue and not an aircraft trail in sight), but with a chill east wind blowing out of Europe (perhaps a nagging Brexit reminder?). And, by the way, ‘the Meadows’ refers to the name of the street.