A Dandy Adventure

Its 6am and the sun is just rising

A peachy hue on the distant horizon

I raise my head, then stretch out and blink

Yes, today will be the big day, I think

The clouds are gathering, soft and grey

Its going to be a breezy day

At 7am, I feel the tug

Lifted high in the air by the west wind's hug

Before I know it I'm torn apart

My kin cast off for their own new start

Below in the field yellow heads bob goodbye

It's 8am, and away I fly

In front of my eyes, the world unravels

This is the start of my glorious travels

Over patchwork fields and rolling hills

By 10am, villages, farmyards and mills

My heart is light and my mind is free

I don't see the blackbird approaching me

Like an athlete, I spin, just avoiding his beak

Emerging less bold and a little more meek

At 11 o'clock I enter the woods

To a blanket of green, full of blossoming buds

The squirrels are foraging nuts for their supper

Whilst the stream babbles on with a splash and a splutter

By noon I've arrived at a 'lovely' new place

And I perch on its rushes to gaze at my face

A perfect reflection, not even a ripple

So enchanted am I, that I doze - just a little

One o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock, four

I've seen horses in paddocks and hares on the moor

Watched new-born lambs frolick in meadows so green

And avoided an owl who looked hungry and mean

Followed people on pathways, on tracks and on lanes

All enjoying the warmth of this lovely spring day

Observed from on high, cars and buses and bikes

And passed walkers on mountain tracks, out for a hike

Five o'clock, six o'clock, time's passing fast

I'm not sure how much longer my journey can last

I long for the meadow where I left all my friends

And wonder when this big adventure will end

The breeze has now lulled as it starts to go dark

I'm floating down gently on the song of the larks

When all of a sudden I start to feel mellow,

As I view bobbing heads - a familiar yellow

A new field, a new place, to put down some roots

Away from car tyres and big hiking boots

To sleep the big sleep through the cold winter chill

On this cosy embankment at the foot of the hill

It's seven o'clock, time for bed, and to rest

So that next year, my seedlings will be at their best

On the westerly wind from this field they'll be blown

To make Dandy Adventures and lives of their own