Halcyon Days

It seems a lifetime ago.

I know I did not know back then

that I was so happy.

My parents seemingly permanent

hiding from me their fragile mortality,

as much part of my life’s structure

as the small house we lived in.

Days full of longing for more time

to breathe pure air into my lungs deeply.

The new fragrances of each season.

With all the newness of life everywhere

Lambs, puppies, kittens and goldfish.

The vivid colors of my first spring.

Perhaps more importantly the new odors.

Did they ever smell as good later in life?

Summer holidays from school,

jumping out of the classroom door

like a soul leaving the body for heaven.

Wonderful days filled

with fishing games and friends.

If I had known then how to

capture that moment in time

place it like an insect in a bottle

to open again and again,,

breathing its remembrances into my soul

of the lost innocence of my childhood.