I’ve walked this path a hundred times <br />Above me in bright spring sunshine <br />A thousand bare arms stretch for the sky <br />Under my feet, gnarled tree roots exposed <br />Appear like the arthritic fingers of an old widow <br />My shadow glides over the deep russet carpet <br />Autumns golden butterflies crunch under my feet <br />Their sound reminiscent of crisps munched by hungry schoolboys <br />Cutting through the warm sunshine <br />The cold breeze stings my ears <br />above <br />Stretched across a blue sky <br />Pilots weave vapour trial patterns <br />The view across the valley to the hills opposite <br />Where a once clean skyline now holds the ivory towers of progress <br />Windmills reaping the wind <br />The greater part of me hating the intrusion on the moors I love <br />Yet grudgingly accepting that in some way the do look majestic <br /> <br />From nowhere I begin to draw parallels with the nature around me <br />And my own life <br /> <br />Bare branches become my arms reaching for tomorrow <br />Fallen leaves crushed underfoot my hopes <br />Their rustle the thoughts rattling in my head <br />Vapour trails stretching long only to disappear as my dreams <br /> <br />From nowhere a thousand arms pull me back <br />The realisation that the love of family and friends <br /> is enough to be thankful for <br />Though alone with my thoughts, days such as this <br />Bathed in glorious sunshine <br />Are there for the taking <br />Windmills standing tall symbolise hope for the future <br />Rustling leaves below give way to the new buds of spring above <br />And all my tomorrows lie safe in a thousand outstretched arms<br /><br />Bill Smith<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-thousand-outstretched-arms/
