Springtime, Youth

After school, barefoot, walking the furrow,

Shovel on shoulder, feeling the cool clayey earth,

He relished the moment, keeping it for now.

In the distance the thicket’s trees greening,

In the distance the sounds: blackbirds in abundance,

A blue jay, crows. 

There were little ditches to be done,

Earth displaced by the plow displaced in turn,

So water from the next rain could flow.

The little ditches work done,

Shovel on shoulder, feeling the cool clayey earth,

He relished the moment, keeping it for now.

--April 9, 2013