Ode to Nature Child

Like children we laughed so playfully wild
Amidst the forest and upon hills so green
You teased and called me your nature child
I made wreaths of flowers for us, King and Queen

We lay and talked then dozed in the warm sun
You woke me, tickling my nose with a flower
We rolled, tickled each other, laughed with glee
Then you held me tight when passion had begun
No love was sweeter, then came a spring shower
Yet still we loved, feeling so wild and free

Our days were filled with laughter and love
Our evenings were spent in quiet and peace

We sat on the porch, and watched stars above
Then you went missing, I called the police
Two nights I lay crying in panic and fear
Waiting before they could begin a search
Each day was numbness, a living nightmare
Nights I could not find sleep without you near
I tried to find my strength and prayed in church
The house became so very cold, empty and bare.


Now I sit alone, as the night softly comes on
Cool breeze, touch my brow and heal my heart
The love we knew and cherished can never be gone
We promised, we knew, never would we part
Where are you? on Earth do you yet wander?
Let not my beloved be gone and leave me saddened
There is not another that I can confide in
Not a soul, not one, have I ever held fonder
Nor one who ever cheered and made me gladdened
As you have done my love, through thick and thin.


Oh to be within the arms of love once more
Lying in peace and contentment,warmed by love
Feeling the waves of joy like sea on the shore
As an eagle rising from nest and soaring above
Oh! Why did you leave and not say a word
About the reason why, or where you have gone?
Could you not have spoken to me with trust
Rather than to leave without being heard?
My mind is playing tricks on me!
What went wrong? I cannot go on, yet I must, I must!


Yet not now, let me doze beneath the full moon
As we once did together, and let me now dream
Of our days of laughter and nights ending too soon
A soft touch on my arm and in moonlight beam
I see a small lizard safely asleep upon my arm
It does not move as I slowly reach my other hand
To gently pick it up and take it inside with me
It must be sick, for it stayed there like a charm
As I placed it down softly on the aquarium sand
I put the cover on and tonight will let it be

Jordan, my dear little lizard, my only solace
You give me joy in a time of great sorrow
As I hold you and talk and watch your little face
You seem to listen to my hopes for tomorrow
Your head darts back and forth as you observe
Everything around you and explore my arm
You come up to my shoulder, long tail I touch
You turn quickly to see, your tail will swerve
What touched that part of you that is so warm
You see just a part of me and trust me so much

You are always on my shoulder as I watch TV
For news of my beloved who is lost somewhere
The day will come when you, too, leave me
You run to my other shoulder to stare out there
And sit in the sun as you gaze to the beyond
Through the window you look, ponder and gaze
To land you once roamed when you were wild
I will take you back out to rocks near the pond
When you are stronger and build your own maze
Where you can live again as Nature's child


Three weeks Jordan the lizard I befriended
He survived, grew fatter and so much longer
A call! left for dead, coma, the search has ended
My Beloved is okay, each day he's getting stronger
I must let you go now Jordan, my little one
Love and faith we shared, you are well and strong
You belong in nature, living free and wild
I will find you a rock by the pond in the sun
You can sleep under it at night and live long
You have a life to live again as Nature's Child.
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This poem was inspired by Jordan, the lizard I found one day on my patio. You can see in the picture of him that he is a real little person (excuse me, lizard). He looks big in the image of him, but was actually no longer than my entire thumb when I found him.


He seemed not too strong, so I took him inside and cared for him till he grew a little bigger. When I had to let him go, it was such a sad parting. I took him out to the little mountain behind my home and found some large rocks with lots of cubbyholes and places to hide underneath. When I sat him down by one of the holes under the rock, he stared up at me as if to say, "What do you expect me to do now?"


He ran inside the hole, was in there for a few minutes, exploring his new home, then peeked back out to see if I was still there. Then he forgot about me and began exploring more cubbyholes and tunnels.


I went back out a few days later and saw him on top of the largest rock, basking in the sun, yet ever alert to danger, turning his head this way and that. When he saw me he paused for a few seconds, staring at me. But, when I gently reached for him, he darted down to the safety of his kingdom beneath the rock.




Jordan is truly Nature’s child. I had intended to focus more on the love the woman had for her husband and the torment she went through when he had gone missing -- yet, it seems, Jordan demanded more attention. I felt Jordan deserved an ode for all the trouble he had gone to when inspiring my poem.

© Content Copyright Phyllis Doyle Burns 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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