Paradise Lost
I remember my carefree youth now gone
with those freedoms and beauty replaced.
Our Garden was the special place
our family quietly searched the stars
amid the vast darkness of space.
Our Garden was full of wonders by day,
the beauty of Nature all around,
but at night where we sat or lay
to view the Milky Way full of stars
became our own Sacred Ground.
Then came the man-made satellites,
their passing light a shared thrill
that also filled us with wonder
as we ignored the growing chill
and presentments of things to come.
Over time, our Sacred Place changed-
a space to park trucks and cars.
Our priorities became our technologies,
not the wonders of flowers and stars.
Someone else owns the parking space now.
December 31, 2021
Shelley Wilson
Flowerpoet 