Time In A Bottle

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 in 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.