And Morning Broke
Once there was this thoughtful ram,
Who wandered off across the land;
And for a while the grass was green
And plentiful – or so it seemed.But then some issues showed their heads –
Where grass once grew was sand instead,
And rocky places not too nice;
Then night-time came with slippery ice.A storm blew up, and lower track
Which promised shelter, shelter lacked;
The situation – grim at first
Made shift from grim – to bad – to worse.And then this shepherd, missing him,
Showed up along the canyon rim;
Asked, “You okay, down there my friend?”
When he said, “No” – said, “I’ll descend”.At length he came upon the ledge;
Reflected on how near the edge
They were, but did not comment thus,
But eased for sheep the sense of rush.For hours he waited on the ledge,
And eased the ram back from the edge;
As lightning crackled, thunder boomed,
They moved to where there was more room.The night wore on; with task half done,
As tension eased, emerged some fun;
Then off he bolted – “There’s the path
I’ll take to flee this place at last”.The shepherd waited patiently
Until the ram “the rest” could see –
(The part he’d seen on his dissent –
The problems where that pathway went).Once seen, the ram returned once more,
Midst lightning, thunder, rain that poured
Upon the frozen rocks around –
Oh! Freezing rain and slippery ground”.“So, now where to?” The shepherd asked;
“Don’t know”, replied the ram at last;
“This is a tricky time right now,
But we’ll get safely home somehow –“For I've been here some times before;
Each time was worse – ‘Can there be more?’
I often asked – ‘Of course there can;
That’s how life goes’”, he said to ram.“You ready to ascend with me?
On hillside would you rather be?
For, suit yourself – what’s there to lose
The choice is yours – it’s time to choose.”“I want to be back home again”,
Said ram to shepherd in the rain;
“But can we leave this sheltered place
On slippery rocks with careful pace?”“Of course”, the shepherd said with glee,
“Just stay quite close and follow me;
We’ll be okay – look up, not down –
Soon we’ll have left this rocky ground”.Ram thought a while, then gave a nod,
“Strange circumstance – it seems quite odd –
Why did you come this stormy night?”
“Just doing my job – you weren’t in sight”.They slowly made their way along
The slippery path – he hummed a song
About the ninety-nine back home,
Safe in the fold who’d never roamed.Once safely up from rocky ledge,
And moving back from danger’s edge,
The ram said, “I’ve perspective new;
I’d like to share this larger view –“For I been watching where I’ve walked;
Learned more than I had even thought
Was out here in this world of ours –
A land of trees, and grass, and flowers.“I think I’d like to share this way
With other sheep – and make their day –
Not on the slippery slope of rocks,
But on this grazing-ground for flocks”.“Good plan”, the shepherd smiled and said,
As ram to fold he slowly led;
We’ll speak some more in second half,
And ponder how to do that task –“But first, let’s get out of the rain;
Dry off; assess our loss and gain;
And stabilize as we recoup;
Then share your insights with the group”.They reached the sheepfold as the light
In eastern sky became quite bright;
They shook the rain from fleece and coat,
And hummed their song with cheerful note.navigation