Certainties

I was raised in an orchard
           where there were apples and pears
and plums and peaches and cherries
           and seasonal soft fruits
I ran in fields and was drawn
           to the tall woodland trees
and to the margins of streams
           and rivers where the fish
swam in secret and the ducks
           and the swans made no sound

At night when darkness
           shrouded the house
I felt secure in my own world
           of certainties that were renewed
year after year
           I knew love and loved in return

And life was so solid
           you could take it
into your hand and know
           that it would never fail you
and it never did
           I have no one to blame

John Lyons