To walk abroad is, not with eyes,
But thoughts, the fields to see and prize;
To walk is by a thought to go;
To move in spirit to and fro;
To mind the good we see;
To taste the sweet;
Observing all the things we meet
How choice and rich they be.
Admire each pretty flow’r
With its sweet smell;
To praise their Maker, and to tell
The marks of his great pow’r.
Among the hedges and the trees,
To cull the dew that lies
On ev’ry blade,
From ev’ry blossom;
Observe those rich and glorious things,
The rivers, meadows, woods, and springs,
The fructifying sun;
While in those pleasant paths we talk,
’Tis that tow’rds which at last we walk;
For we may by degrees
Wisely proceed
Pleasures of love and praise to heed,
From viewing herbs and trees.
Poetry from Thomas Traherne’s “Walking” and some local herbs and trees for Wildlife Wednesday
PoetryPix 