With winter gone
The spring thaw
Moved quietly over the land
Revealing an old summer road
That led high up
Into the tall mountains

While winter flourished
All about the forest
I patiently waited
For the warmth of spring
So I might take this road
Over the foothills
To the high mountain lake

I remember many years ago
The first time I came upon
This old mountain road
Back then the road
Like myself, was young
With its wild flower path
That led to the very top

What I remember most
Was the sound of the forest
And the crackling
Of last year’s dry leaves underfoot
As I hiked up the path
It seems strange
When I think about it
But, from what I remember
The springs back then
Were more colorful
And the sky much fuller
Then they seem these days

I realize now
That the eyes of a young man
See things quite differently
And as the years pass by
Memories seem embellished
By the passing of time

And though I have waited
For winter to pass
And the warmth of spring
To open the summer road
I know
When I reach the top
Everything I see
Will never be the same
Because I can no longer
See the world
Through the memories
Of a young man’s eyes