Children kneel beside the stream,
Their books replaced by light and gleam;
Equations drawn by nature’s hand;
The maple shade becomes their class
Their teacher—time through moving glass
A leaf floats by they watch it spin
It carries lessons deep within;
That flow demands both drift and steer
That change itself can teach the clear
They write with twigs upon the sand
No chalk no grade just pure delight—
To learn by seeing water’s light
At bell of breeze they run once more
Their laughter trailing on the shore;
And I who watch at last recall—
The best of schools require no wall