Forget he will

at Easter we walked along
the abandoned railroad tracks
in the echoed mountains
30 feet above the valley
i was a shy boy then
frightened of falling through the
cracks to my splattering death
my mom’s hand which i
gripped tightly calmed
the vision of the free fall

with an invitation to a higher
perch i sat on the
the shoulders of a grizzled vet
i felt safer on dad’s shoulder somehow
it was a thrill being so high and it didn’t
seem as dangerous

nature was very fresh
the shadows were darker
the water fresher
the cold crisper
the sun and the clouds
the same if only i could have
taken more notice of the
smell of rain the cool of
that evening the depth of
colour and the faces around me
those faces