Epiphany On Hampstead Heath

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Hampstead Heath has not seen any snow (yet) this winter, but I went for a stroll there only yesterday afternoon in brilliant sunshine, and ...it felt GOOD to be alive.

Photo: Hampstead heath in Winter

EPIPHANY ON HAMPSTEAD HEATH

I stood on Parliament Hill

watching children playing in the snow,

wondering where, oh, where

did my childhood go? And the rosy faces

became those I used to know

I walked on Parliament Hill

though a shrill wintry wind sure to blow,

sounds of laughter in my ears

of long, long ago but faded soon enough

among tears I’d come to know

I paused on Parliament Hill

admiring London’s heady New Year show,

wondering where, oh, where

did Santa go? But in a vast maze of streets

that in time I came to know

I descended Parliament Hill,

among sledge marks churning up the snow,

to a coming of age… where

the carefree days and ways of my childhood

may haunt but dare not follow

At the foot of Parliament Hill

I made my way home, thoughtful and slow,

mindful of an epiphany…when

I embraced the cheers and fears of adulthood

on the Heath, one January snow

Copyright R. N. Taber 2009