In the vast deserts life struggles
clinging on by their toe nails
short scrubby plants poke out
a hot haven for scorpions

See the marks in the red sand
of where a snake slithered by
side winding its way over
the baking hot sands of dunes


Here all life is sparse
only the fit surviving

Yet in the vast oceans
life teems with brilliance
various colourful corals
with sparkling little fish

Immense whales roam at will
see their water sprouts
gushing up in fountains
as silently they glide by


Shoals of fish darting by
seaweed lazily waving

Then there are the snowy tundras
life here too is for the fittest
majestic polar bear with cubs
fishing at an air hole in the ice

Penguins scurrying as fast as they can
they have no intention of being supper
sea lions lay on the rocky snowy shores
here to mate and give birth to pups


The wolf pack roaming far and wide
searching for their elusive next meal

As I travel these places in my mind
I am struck by how alike our lives are
we go through hard times as we traverse
the winding paths set before us

Then there are the times of plenty
when all is sunny and delightful
a time to enjoy and even to reflect
to give thanks that all is so good

On to the winter which comes to all
a time too of hardship and being slow
the sense of life starting to wind down
the reluctance acceptance as we near the end