Summertimes
In my mind still
the tall trees on either side
of the stream and the weir
over which the waters rushed
and on the bank
where the stream widened
there were pebbles and small rocks
that we raised above our heads
and threw with all our might
into the clear waters
to see who could make
the greatest splash
It was hard thirsty work
under the bright sky
and upstream from us
your father stood in his boots
in the shallows casting flies
that he had tied himself
Those were the days
when you taught me to whistle
with two fingers in my mouth
bending my tongue
also to clasp my hands together
as though in prayer
and to blow through my thumbs
into the hollow to make an owl call
The innocent days of childhood
long gone and you too gone
though there still
in my heart and mind
John Lyons