GONE FISH'IN

The longer I live,

the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and wonder of the world…

I have loved the feel of the grass under my feet,

and the sound of the running streams by my side.

The hum of the wind in the treetops has always been good music to me,

and the face of the fields has often comforted me more than the faces of men.
I am in love with this world...

I have tilled its soil,

I have gathered its harvest,

I have waited upon its seasons,

and always have I reaped what I have sown.
I have climbed its mountains,

roamed its forests,

sailed its waters,

crossed its deserts,

felt the sting of its frosts,

the oppression of its heats,

the drench of its rains,

the fury of its winds,

and always have beauty and joy waited upon my goings and comings.

--John Burroughs--