Living outside the box was hard for the shrew to do

She’d stayed safe in her corner of leaves so long it was all the world she knew

She hadn’t ventured far from home, to forage or explore

All she needed was within easy reach, so why should she long for more?

Yet the Wind whispered stories to her, of lands so far away

Peaks of snow, rivers that rushed, meadows to frolic and play

Her heart filled with these tales as she imagined all the places she could see

But time passed by and fear set in, better safe than dangerously free

But with fear grew another sensation, one that was harder to ignore

Disappointment within herself stirred a bitter resentment at her core

She began to hate the visions the wind delivered so diligently

She bade the Wind to leave her, I’m fine!  Just leave me be!

But the Wind was old as time itself and knew the corruption taking root in her soul

It would grow until it consumed her if she didn’t at least try for her dreams and goals

So the Wind took a drastic step and conjured a tornado that destroyed her home

Shaken but still alive, the cold clarity of shock cut the shrew to the bone

She could see what it was she wanted, but hadn’t given herself permission to pursue

She left her broken pile of leaves and set off for adventures anew

She saw sights that left her marveling and filled her heart to the brim

Made stories she shared with all that she met, and her constant companion, the Wind.

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Like the shrew in this tale I’m longing for some adventure at the moment. I’m still searching for the elusive camper van (I’m getting fixated on the ‘the one.’) I could be wrong, but I feel like the van would be our ticket to more family adventures. Whatever boundaries around screen time we set in our house, we always find ourselves somehow drifting back to being in separate rooms on different devices. Right now for instance, I’m typing this sat at the island in the kitchen, my husband is in the family room watching football, my son is in the front room playing Fortnite and my daughter is in her room watching Friends on her laptop whilst playing Zelda on the switch (multi-tasking at its best). It seems the only way we can get some time together is to leave the house, which we did yesterday with a trip to the Pantomime that brought some much needed laughs and just about saved my sanity.

I’m torn with how to look at this. On the one hand, everyone is happily engaging in the activities they enjoy, and if I trust the ineffable plan then we’ll all be just fine, but on the other hand I would like more family adventures together in this short window when my children are still children.

But enough of my musings. I hope you enjoyed this week’s Sunday rhyme time. If you did then there’s plenty more animal related poems in the soul poems section of my blog. You can also follow me on Instagram.