~~~~
~,, ,,~
;, ,;
,,~;^$¤¤## ,,,,,,,,,,,, ; ; ,,,,,,,,,,,, ##¤¤$^;~,,
,,~;^^^$¤# ;, ,; #¤$^^^;~,,
,~;^$¤#### ~,, ,,~ ####¤$^;~,
,,,,,,;$## ~~~~ ##$;,,,,,,
,,~;^$¤### ###¤$^;~,,
,,~;^$¤### The River That'S Our River Makes A ###¤$^;~,,
,,~;^$¤### Large Bend Like A Scooping Hand And A ###¤$^;~,,
,,~;^$¤### Decent Days Travel North From That ###¤$^;~,,
,,~;^$¤¤¤# Stands Our House In The Middle Of A #¤¤¤$^;~,,
,,~;^$¤### Forgotten Apple Orchard. Our House Is ###¤$^;~,,
,,~;^$¤### Built Of Dark Clay And Abandoned By A ###¤$^;~,,
,~;^$¤#### Stranger. The Window Has No Glass But ####¤$^;~,
,,~;^¤#### 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. ¤^;,,,,,,,
,,,,,;^¤¤# #¤¤^;,,,,,
,,,,~~^$¤# #¤$^~~,,,,
,,,,;^$$¤# #¤$$^;,,,,
,,~;^$¤### ###¤$^;~,,
,,~;^$¤### ###¤$^;~,,