August through to late September
Are Springtime days to long to remember
Hay Fever, colds, sinus and sneezes
As daytime temperature rises or freezes.

The veld is brown, the rivers low
Through here and there some large ones flow
On patches of land the Winter wheat
Brightens the colour no mean feat.

Over the highveld the glorious Msasas
Vie with the greenery in the pastures
Late Winter shrubs and flowering trees
Flaunt their beauty in the breeze.

From far-off lands birds fly in
To welcome the dawn with their joyful din
Bees are gathering in their honey
While on the roof on a morning sunny
Our resident butcher bird takes up his seat
To watch the lawn for grubs to eat.

Toppies sing in the hawthorn hedge
While a lizard suns on a window ledge
A fieldmouse scuttles from its tiny hole
Frightened away by a tunnelling mole
For them as for us its abundantly clear
That Winter has gone and Spring is here.

From the collection - RHODESIAN REVERIE
Memories by Robert Heinrich Percival Cornell
Contributed by his grandson Rob Staniland
Email : Rob