Late Afternoon Snapshot

By Charles C. (Charlie) Gaines

The last few, flat rays
of sunlight dance across
the hillside over the way,
landing softly on bright green moss
and golden flowers that gently sway
                                               in the early evening breezes.
 

The squirrel above me,
scolds my infatuation with this sight,
suggesting I move on, assuring he
can gather one last nut which he has spied
lying beside the fallen tree.
                                                        His energy never ceases.
 

I wander along, the gracious neighbor,
and celebrate within, the precious scene;
the light, the moss, the flower, all savored.
A serendipitous break in my routine.
Joy! Such a gift with which to be favored.
                                    Evening slips between the gray trees.

Charles C. (Charlie) Gaines is a retired family dentist. Having been a junior high school teacher and coach, a gun fighter at Six Flags Over Texas, among dozens of other pursuits, he now lives in downtown Fort Worth. A life-long lover of poetry, he has begun to write once again as he neared and eventually entered retirement. He is an active member of the Fort Worth Poetry Society and The Poetry Society of Texas. He has been published by 50 Word Stories, The Academy of Heart and Mind and forthcoming in 2026 by River Paws Press.