there are moments
that endure in memory for a lifetime
only in the simple nuance
of their presence in ones life

the smell of your mothers french
toast sunday morning breakfast after the fire on the poarch
and the crisp harsh sound of eggs sizzling


the first day of school
and your locker full of new books
and unopened notebooks
crisp new paper had a scent
i recall it clearly
crisp wood with a metallic sharp undertone
the smell of newly sharpened number two pencils

i cannot place the memory
as to how old i was
or anything beyond the fragment
but its one that lingers for me:

spring sunlight
near dusk
as i rode in the backseat of a strange car
some friend of my parents
we were driving past Paine lake
and the sunlight burst upon me
thru a break in the overhead trees
and the thought that filled me with
such wondrous joy
'its finally summer'

what i wouldnt
give to feel that free again
without care or burden
simply filled with joy at
the simple wonder of it all