Sweet Lemonade Skies

After The Wild Geese by Wendell Berry

Walking in wetlands on Tuesday morning,

rare time alone, I savour November sunshine

and coffee bitter, sweet lemonade skies

of autumn’s end. In this season

over the amber fields , I think of those

who stayed behind, in ways not spoken.

I open the pages to find, serendipitously,

The Wild Geese, inviting me into the waters

of reflection.

Geese appear, of course, high above me, their chorus

merged with the learning child voices.

And though their chatter, like a train approaching

the platform, interrupts my reverie,

their awe, “woah birds!”, is more

than remedy.

And I pray, not

for new earth or heaven, but to be

quiet in heart, and quick to reverence clear.

What we need is here.

©️ John de Gruyther 2025