~~~~
~:: ::~
^: :^
,:~^*$#¶@# ,,,,,,,,,,,, ^ ^ ,,,,,,,,,,,, #@¶#$*^~:,
,,:~^*$#¶@ ^: :^ @¶#$*^~:,,
,,,:~^*$#¶ ~:: ::~ ¶#$*^~:,,,
,,,,:~^*$# ~~~~ #$*^~:,,,,
,,,,,:~^*$ $*^~:,,,,,
,,,,,,:~^* The River That'S Our River Makes A *^~:,,,,,,
,,,,,,,:~^ Large Bend Like A Scooping Hand And A ^~:,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,:~ Decent Days Travel North From That ~:,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,: Stands Our House In The Middle Of A :,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,:~ Forgotten Apple Orchard. Our House Is ~:,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,:~^ Built Of Dark Clay And Abandoned By A ^~:,,,,,,,
,,,,,,:~^* Stranger. The Window Has No Glass But *^~:,,,,,,
,,,,,:~^*$ Instead Steel Bars To Keep The Animals $*^~:,,,,,
,,,,:~^*$# Out. #$*^~:,,,,
,,,:~^*$#¶ ¶#$*^~:,,,
,,:~^*$#¶@ Around The House Is A Thick, Thick @¶#$*^~:,,
,:~^*$#¶@# Brush Of Ferns And Bushes. There Live #@¶#$*^~:,
,,:~^*$#¶@ The Animals That We Fight To Keep Away, @¶#$*^~:,,
,,,:~^*$#¶ For They Speak To Us To Join Them In ¶#$*^~:,,,
,,,,:~^*$# The Luscious Caves Below Ground. They #$*^~:,,,,
,,,,,:~^*$ Mean No Harm But It Is Not In Our Best $*^~:,,,,,
,,,,,,:~^* Interest To Do So. There Is Important *^~:,,,,,,
,,,,,,,:~^ Work That Needs To Be Done, And It Cant ^~:,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,:~ Be Done By Animals. (Father Says This.) ~:,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,: :,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,:~ Every Morning Our Father Clears The ~:,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,:~^ Ferns And Uproots The Bushes Only For ^~:,,,,,,,
,,,,,,:~^* Them To Grow Back Each Night. Their *^~:,,,,,,
,,,,,:~^*$ Leaves Are Teal, White And Yellow, Some $*^~:,,,,,
,,,,:~^*$# Even The Color Of Wine. They Have Lilac #$*^~:,,,,
,,,:~^*$#¶ Flowers And In The Morning They Are Wet ¶#$*^~:,,,
,,:~^*$#¶@ With Dew. @¶#$*^~:,,
,:~^*$#¶@# #@¶#$*^~:,
,,:~^*$#¶@ Father Is Away During The Day Doing @¶#$*^~:,,
,,,:~^*$#¶ Important Things Elsewhere. He Is Weary ¶#$*^~:,,,
,,,,:~^*$# When He Returns Home, Each Day More So #$*^~:,,,,
,,,,,:~^*$ Than The Next. We Learn To Cook For Him $*^~:,,,,,
,,,,,,:~^* So That He Does Not Have To. We Tend To *^~:,,,,,,
,,,,,,,:~^ His Clothes. ^~:,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,:~ ~:,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,: Suddenly The Dense Bushwork Is Mirrored :,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,:~ Inside. Stems And Leaves Appear Close ~:,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,:~^ To The Walls And Far From The Light. We ^~:,,,,,,,
,,,,,,:~^* Are Glad, For The Flowers Are Beautiful *^~:,,,,,,
,,,,,:~^*$ And Smell Good, And There Is Little $*^~:,,,,,
,,,,:~^*$# Decoration In Our House. But When #$*^~:,,,,
,,,:~^*$#¶ Father Comes Home He Is Angry And Cuts ¶#$*^~:,,,
,,:~^*$#¶@ Them All Down In A Frenzy. We Are @¶#$*^~:,,
,:~^*$#¶@# Scared Of Him Then. #@¶#$*^~:,
,,:~^*$#¶@ @¶#$*^~:,,
,,,:~^*$#¶ We Are Then Tasked With Removing Any ¶#$*^~:,,,
,,,,:~^*$# Indoor Plant We See. But They Are So #$*^~:,,,,
,,,,,:~^*$ Beautiful! We Wait Just Until Father $*^~:,,,,,
,,,,,,:~^* Comes Home And Until Then We Enjoy *^~:,,,,,,
,,,,,,,:~^ Them. Sometimes An Animal Will Sneak In ^~:,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,:~ But We Always Shoo Them Out. With Fresh ~:,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,: Cut Flowers Thrown Right Outside The :,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,:~ House He Suspects And Resents Our ~:,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,:~^ Inaction. But He Doesn'T Have The ^~:,,,,,,,
,,,,,,:~^* Energy To Scold Us. He Weakens Quickly. *^~:,,,,,,
,,,,,:~^*$ It Is Not Long Before He Is Still Tired $*^~:,,,,,
,,,,:~^*$# Even In The Morning And Must #$*^~:,,,,
,,,:~^*$#¶ Reluctantly Leave The Outdoor Weed ¶#$*^~:,,,
,,:~^*$#¶@ Cutting To Us As Well, Untrusting That @¶#$*^~:,,
,:~^*$#¶@# We Will Carry It Out. #@¶#$*^~:,
,,:~^*$#¶@ @¶#$*^~:,,
,,,:~^*$#¶ Now He Leaves As Soon As He'S Awake And ¶#$*^~:,,,
,,,,:~^*$# Falls Asleep As Soon As He Returns. We #$*^~:,,,,
,,,,,:~^*$ Are Left To Care For Us And The House $*^~:,,,,,
,,,,,,:~^* And The Orchard. But It Is Hard And We *^~:,,,,,,
,,,,,,,:~^ Are Distracted. We Are Not As ^~:,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,:~ Persistent As Father And Quickly Fall ~:,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,: Behind In Our Duties. :,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,:~ ~:,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,:~^ ^~:,,,,,,,
,,,,,,:~^* *^~:,,,,,,
,,,,,:~^*$ $*^~:,,,,,
,,,,:~^*$# #$*^~:,,,,