Oh, France! How we love you so!
We are here, enjoying the beauty you’ve been given:
the Pyrenean Mountains - in the foothills - we delight,
with their colours and spectacles which dazzle madly
in the light of bright sun, white moons, lightning and red storms.
On offer are hills and grasslands, rocks and perfect pools
of clear water and streams bubbling along…
Nature, so happy abundant in its joyful song!
In the orchard, I sit on an orange tractor, which is bold and strong.
I am stunned by the yearly fruit: succulent apples, purple plums,
walnuts and cherries and berries, peaches and more!
The vines have produced tiny grapes, yet to plump out;
and the fig trees, with their wonderful canopies, hang heavy with gifts.
This garden is full of tasty promises galore!
I hear the birds tweeting, see whizzy lizards scamper by,
and touch velvet rose petals and smell the flowers’ fragrant perfume.
I taste the juice of the apples and know that God provides all.
Oh God, you are everywhere and in feel now Your gracious giving.
It is all just on loan here, for we are surely passing through…
but this place, by Your grace, is such a truly special space!
It’s a jewel and it is rest; it is love and it is peace; it’s a gift to the soul…
and I know that it must end, for we’ve yet to find what’s Heaven-sent.
Thank You for the time here, and the beauty You have made –
Let me know again in Heaven, things on Earth that soon must fade.
juliehughespoetry©francehomevillage2026