Tuesday Poem

.
Thomas Hardy

I notice how finches delicately
bend the dandelion stalks to get at the seeds.

I notice how the cat sniffs the air
before she ventures outside.

I notice the oak sheds more & more leaves
& the patterns into which the wind whirls them.

I notice the sun
rises later each morning.

I know that soon the sun will reverse track.
I know that one day I will not be here to see that happen.

But let it be known,
here was another man who noticed things.

Harvey McQueen

I wrote this poem two years ago just after I’d just received the diagnosis of my illness. Like any other human over the years there had been the occasional thought about mortality. But that late autumn bomshell sharpened focus. At the time I was reading Hardy’s poems – I’ve always responded to his work and return to it again and again. Hence the last line.

I like this poem so much that I placed it at the beginning in my recently released collection ‘Goya Rules’ published by HeadworX.

If you wish to read other contributions to the Tuesday Poem site it's http://www.tuesdaypoem.blogspot.com/