A Lesson To Be Learned
By Bill Shepard
When our young son finished college he returned home. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and his mother and I were browsing in our back yard. We knew our son had a deep passion for music and had formed a country western band while attending college at the University of South Florida. The college is located near Tampa and the band often played at some of the nightclubs in Tampa. We were not ready for what we were about to hear.
Our son approached where we were standing and began, “Mother and Daddy I have finished my four years of college. I have proved that I am as smart as you are. I am as smart as my brother and sister (both had finished college before he had) now. I am going to do what I like best.” His words exploded like a bombshell to our ears, but what could we say or do? We had expected he might get a good job and settle down in a career job in or near to Tampa. His degree earned was in mass communications. His brother and sister had begun their careers as teachers and were doing well. We had hoped he would do the same He wanted no part of being a teacher. We were disappointed and broken-hearted. We watched our son pack his belongings and go away to try his wings in a big world.
A few days after our son was gone, I was trimming the hedges in my yard when I came upon a bird nest hidden in the hedge. A mother bird flew out and perched on a limb in a nearby tree. Inside the nest there were two other young birds ready to fly. I stood back and watched them fly to a nearby tree also. As I stood watching the scene before me, the thought of my young son’s leaving still fresh in my mind, words to the following poem were forming in my mind. I left what I was doing and went inside and began to write. Now you know the story behind the poem!
A Lesson Learned
(Written by Bill Shepard 4/28/71)
I saw a young bird today,
Spread its wings and fly away.
From its nest on branches high,
And as I watched, I breathed a sigh.
It perched on a limb not far away,
And looked all around as if to say
‘This is my world to fly as I please,
Across the land and over the seas.
I wanted to cry, “Come back, little bird.”
But I knew it was useless, I’d not be heard,
My words, I knew, it would not heed,
T’was useless for me to beg and plead.
So, I said, “Little bird, take your flight,
Spread your wings and fly with all your might.
Satisfy the longing within your breast
And search the world for another nest.”
Travel the flyways around the world,
See all the places of which you have heard,
Experience their sorrows, taste of their mirth,
Compare them all with the nest of your birth.
Ah! Little bird, if only you could know,
Of the things you seek before you go,
But this is such a wasted thought,
For experience can be had, only if bought.
Raise your young and watch them grow,
Until the urge comes for them to go,
To fields and forests far away,
Then know and understand, what I’m saying today.
Mr. Shepard is a native of Darlington, S.C., and a current resident of Piedmont, S.C. He is the author of “Mill Town Boy” and “Bruised”. He has been sharing his tales of growing up in Darlington for decades, and we are delighted to share them each week.