Old Familiar Landscapes
Those old familiar landscapes
within my heart are longed,
though many years have passed now
the time has not assuaged.
The willow trees in spring time,
the ducklings in the pond,
the scent of sweet magnolia,
bring memories dear and fond.
A rustic fence that traveled far
and made a boundary line,
enclosed a world that I knew best
with treasures I called mine.
A sprawling house with many rooms
and a stair with spiral rail,
overlooked a broad expanse
that often I would trail.
I traveled to a distant place
where friends have been so kind,
but old familiar landscapes
are etched upon my mind.
-Betty Cooke
The Farmers in the Dell 