A Paradise
By Niall Twohig
The scent of Da’s old pipe
and the sound of birds chirping
are a paradise.
I feel Da present in this present moment.
I feel you, dear Aislynn,
present in this present moment –
Not just the you
of almost 5 years old
But also the you
of many years from now,
who will smell this old pipe,
who will hear the birds,
who will feel
this presence
of the present moment.
* * *
Sunlight through pines
is also a paradise.
Seek out pine forests.
If not without,
within.
* * *
The light shining on reddened trees.
The light shining on twenty students writing –
This, too, is a paradise.
* * *
The dirt, textured now,
reveals roly-polies.
They eat the metal in the dirt
which helps the trees to grow.
Without them, we don’t have the tree.
Without the tree, we don’t have air to breathe.
They too are part of paradise.