Through Seasons

1

You thought you knew it all
but you didn't know the story then,
and you are just getting the picture now.
A day spent on the internet viewing
web sites for counties and small towns
in Kansas, while snow is on the ground here,
dredges through memories of forty years ago,
images of towns, villages, and farms,
of weekends passed
in many of them.

2

We drove on poor roads over ice
to get to her parents' farm
I probably wouldn't have left Wichita
if not for her.
That is where I remember her now.
We dressed warmly to go out
and wondered where we might find
a place to make love.

3

Summers were hot and dusty—
driving with car windows down
we were covered with grit,
and it felt good to stop at a gas station
for a cool drink.
I can see her now,
walking down the path to the creek
where we fish, using grasshoppers
we caught along the way for bait.

"Winter Ducks" Digital Photograph by Jewel Martin