There are many beautiful places in the world.  Too many to count, for sure.  Yet, over the years I have learned that you don’t need to travel far from home in order to come across a beautiful place.  As a child, my family often travelled west to a small stand of poplars not far from home, where the leaves rustled in the wind, the birds sang a sweet lullaby, and nearby a softly flowing stream trickled over smooth stones below.  It is a place that I return to in my thoughts again and again.  It provides comfort, rest, inspiration and hope.  No matter where I travel or where I live, no matter how old I get or how life changes, this place stays with me in my memories and I carry it with me wherever I go. 

When You Leave a Beautiful Place
By Krista Longeway

There’s a place I return to when I dream
Here I sit by a softly flowing stream
Listening to the music of the forest
In a small stand of poplars to the west
Above, the sound of birdsong from the trees
Where the soft breezes play between the leaves
Sun shining down through a green canopy
Of green leafy branches high above me
Water flowing over stones down below
Worn smooth by time and water’s constant flow
These places in nature, gifts from above
Whenever you leave a place that you love
There is one thing for certain that I know
You carry it with you wherever you go