Swan Creek

We parked by the tracks and walked down to the tressel

Wild asparagus spears the rocks along the ties

We descend through thistle and nettles

Alerting the grasshoppers and dragonflies

Our setter takes off like a rusty jet

Chasing squirrels up trees as the birds take flight

The evening cools as the sun prepares to set

Walking with Dad always felt right

We hiked the trails along Swan Creek

I knew every trail and tree and bend in the flow

We enjoyed the peace with no reason to speak

The only sound the crunch of leaves (or snow)

Around the horseshoe trail past the pond and reeds

The ducks move along wary of our sight

The raspberry thicket still buzzing with bees

As locusts start to welcome the night

The evening sky reddens and shadows emerge

Dad plucks a rye grass to chew and chooses a walking stick

The dog shoots by us where the trails diverge

Startling a pheasant in a bush near the crick

We near the bridge as a train rumbles across

The engineer waves and blows the horn

We reach the car just as sunlight withdraws

I remember Dad and these days as I continue to mourn.

JArtB

SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2019 12:13