The Old Squirrel's Soliloquy Poem by Tor Magnor Solvang

My paws are worn from years of toil,
From digging deep in frozen soil.
My tail, once bushy, thick, and grand,
Is thin from scurrying through the land.

I remember summers bright and gold,
When I was young and brave and bold.
I leaped from branch to branch so high,
Beneath the vast and open sky.

I gathered nuts throughout the fall,
I heard the winter's chilly call.
I hid my treasures in the bark,
And shivered in the hollow dark.

My eyes are dim, my heart is slow,
I've seen a thousand drifts of snow.
The oaks have grown, the woods have spread,
With many leaves beneath my head.

I'm tired now, I've had my day,
I watch the young ones run and play.
They do not know the path I trod,
Upon this soft and mossy sod.

I've lived a life of jump and climb,
A tiny story carved in time.
And when I curl up for my sleep,
I have the woodland dreams to keep.