Out Of My Element Poem by Barry Middleton

I am not lost for I remember all
but age and grim fatigue
remove me from my world

I close my eyes to see
the slow black waters of my home
the egret searches the shallows

overhead the osprey soars
the multitude of fish
have always fed these creatures

there are no managers
no delivery trucks
bringing what the swamp may need

the mighty alligator is satisfied
deer and turkey roam the banks
the squirrel stores its winter acorns

there is abundance here
that tells me Eden is not dead to us
in a palmetto thicket a panther sleeps

although I know I cannot go
when I gaze into the darkened night
I remember all the lessons learned