Fiddler on the Roof

And silence descends upon my valley as layers
Of wandering clouds roll down the hills,
And wood smoke rises up through the still air
To hang forgotten among the mossy branches
Of slender fir and pine ---

The setting sun lights up the horizon
With delicate tints of orange, pink and mauve;
A flock of birds settle down for the night.
As faint laughter floats in from afar ---
The tinkle of a child's happy peals,
The creak of an ancient yew branch as
A laughing thrush snuggles in at eventide ---

And layers upon layers of uneven mountain tops
Recede into nothingness...
In ever vanishing shades of purple and powder blue;
The silence and the receding nothingness beyond
Mirror the peace and calm of an old soul
Coming home...