Simple Things

Give me the simple things again:
The sumac's slow September red,
The magic of fall's smoke haze spread,
The fragrance sweet of baking bread,
The blend of voices that I know,
The rooster's urgent rousing crow,
A kerosene lamp's drowsy glow,
The wind-stirred whisper of a pine,
Clusters of grapes upon the vine,
The comfort of a couch that's mine,
The valley churchbell's soft refrain,
The measured rhythm of the rain
Against a starchy-curtained pane,
The piercing boil of brine and spice,
The purring a current under ice,
A fresh-air freedom without price,
The beauty of a rainbow spun,
The flow of wheat fields in the sun,
The homing herd when day is done,
The sweet perfume of clover hay,
The starlit song that follows day
When sunset softly fades away.

Give me the simple things again.
More than a chapter from the past,
All these are memories to last,
Within my joyful heart held fast.

~ Margaret Hasbargen