In a time far from this place

Once
I played in the shallows of a babbling brook,
dipping my toes in the cool waves
watching the leafboats float to far-away lands
joining rivers and lakes and oceans
before capsizing to lie, broken, among the rocks.

Once
I sat on a swing with you beside me
reaching toward the bright,
bright blue of the sky
watching birds fly by and
leaves wave in the wind
with the sun’s golden rays beating
warm on my face
“Jump,” you told me.
I did, and I fell.

Once
I danced in rolling green fields
picking flowers for a bouquet clenched tightly in one fist
You lay there, throwing blades of grass into relief against the sky,
each fluttering in the air before falling, softly,
down to earth
The field is dead now, smothered beneath the hard,
unfeeling concrete of a soulless parking lot.

Once
We sprawled in the fresh spring grass, side by side
looking up at the bright white billows of the
clouds, we found shapes: flowers, birds, dragons
For each one, we created a story
The bird, we said, loved flowers and trees, until a harsh winter came along and killed it.
You never said that winter was killing us, too.

Now,
I see you, but neither of us is there
What we once were is now gone, and only memories remain,
tainted with love forgotten