Smoke…
too dense to go out;
too unsafe to play ball.
So we sat in the house.
and did nothing at all.

All we could do was to
sit!
sit!
sit!
sit!
and we did not like it.
not one little bit.
–Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat (adapted)

Then …
we looked out and saw the hills again,
blue sky and fluffy white clouds.
We went outside
and breathed in fresh air,
opened the windows,
and swept the dust off the deck.

I walked up the hill,
and a deer stopped munching on grass.
She looked up at me
as if to ask, Where have you been?

I biked along the lake,
pedalling hard because I could
and marvelled at the expanse of indigo
rippling sparkles of light.

Wind tickled leaves.
They winked and waved,
Welcome back, my friend.

Don’t it always seem to go
that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.
–Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi

Credits and References:
The Cat in the Hat photo by. Daniel X. O’Neil. Used with permission.
Fresh Air by Esther Hizsa, 2026
Okanagan Rail Trail, Kalamalka Lake by pistachio. Used with permission.

© Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim, 2026.
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without permission from Esther Hizsa is prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used provided there is a link to the original content and credit is given as follows: © Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim 2013-2026.  http://www.estherhizsa.com