Homeward

In the beautiful days of childhood, I was a kite

filled with the exhilaration of blue skies;

trees I climbed presented their branches

with the sweep of the grandest stairs;

clouds stampeded across my heavens and the road

was a flowing tide beneath my feet.

In the beautiful days of childhood, coloured umbrellas

rolled me onward

with smile a scarf, waving over my shoulder,

trailing back into the years;

like dreams, like smoke from an old train engine

dissipates in the attempt to go back.