Simple Pleasures

a sunlit field and a sense of serenity
washed over him with
the smell of spring drifting daily
to tease his hopes and
to give a shy promise of
a coming radiance.

he settled against the split rail fence
underneath a weeping willow and
comfort poured all through him
with the relaxation of his body
and the clearing of
his work wearied mind.

considered lower class by most,
he felt fortunate as he watched
his children play –
their small white feet pretty against
brown waves of freshly plowed earth
laying sleek and glistening in the sun.

his heart burned with
the lonely ache beauty sometimes
brought him –
the beauty that came from
the contagion of his children’s devotion
to finding the joy in life every day.