Quit these four walls
These glowing screens
This climate-controlled castle
Shaped and wired to please

Step outside
Into never-ending fields and skies
And fireflies
Feel the evening breeze
Which speaks in tales and riddles
The passing of the seasons
In the deep streams of time

Feel small
Dig your toes into the soil
Which sustains and
Will outlive you
Reach up to the sky
That stirs the imagination

Remember why they call the outdoors great

The world does not come begging
But extends a hand
An invitation to join this dancing miracle
This symphony of life

—
This poem’s inspired by my five-month-old daughter, who can be instantly calmed of the greatest fits and fusses by simply taking her outside.