Yesterday

Yesterday I took a walk, 
And passed between the changing trees,
Their leaves were clinging 
With final breaths of life, 
Some had fallen, given up, 
Waiting to be dust on the forest floor.
But I paid no mind to nature’s course; 
My thoughts were focused on useless things.
I walked right past a breathless sight: 
A family of deer 
Sipping from a flowing stream.
But next week’s pay and due dates flashed, 
And I passed right by their frightened dash.
Then, far to my right, two bunnies played, 
But I missed that too, 
And trampled blindly on. 
High above me, in the thinning trees, 
A white-furred squirrel hoped from branch to branch,
He jumped right above me for half a mile, 
But I never looked up, 
Was never caused to smile.
These I missed,
But there were others as well: 
A high-flying eagle, a swift-moving fox,
But my mind was circling all those useless things, 
Things that worrying never quite solves.
And as I think back on yesterday 
To my long, stewing walk, 
I regret not stopping 
And looking around, 
At the beauty of nature 
And the joy to be found.
And, in reality, 
All those things never happened:
The jumping squirrel, 
The playing rabbits, 
Or the drinking deer,
And I won’t go back today, 
In case they aren’t there, 
But I’ll imagine they are, 
And that I saw them for real,
And one day they’ll be memories, 
And give me something to feel.