Nature Boy
They say he wandered very far
And left his home behind;
They say he gave up kings for fools
And land for tides and sea.
They say he wandered ‘til he found
A tree to make his throne
And searched for friends who would betray
And lost ones who would run.
They say he gave up all he had –
The heavens and the earth –
To take his place, gasping for air
And thirsty to the bone.
They say that as he breathed his last
He looked on what he’d made
And seeing how his love dispersed
Asked nothing in return.
And when one day – one magic day –
He passed my way, we spoke
Of all that he had learnt and known
And all that I must know.
He showed me scars within his palms
And as we spoke he wept.
The greatest thing you’ll ever learn
Is just to love, he said.
The Consolations of Writing 