Meadows have surprises,
You can find them if you look;
Walk softly through the velvet grass,
And listen by the brook.
 
You may see a butterfly
Rest upon a buttercup
And unfold its drinking straws
To sip the nectar up.
 
You may scare a rabbit
Who is sitting very still;
Though at first you may not see him,
When he hops you will.

 
A dandelion whose fuzzy head
Was golden days ago
Has turned to airy parachutes
That flutter when you blow.
 
Explore the meadow houses,
The burrows in the ground,
A nest beneath tall grasses,
The ant’s amazing mound.
 
Oh! Meadows have surprises
And many things to tell;
You may discover these yourself,
If you look and listen well.
 
                          ~LOIS BRANDT PHILLIPS