Do you remember how we paddled barefoot
at the edge of the river tucking up our skirts,
the one that ran through the meadow near your house?
I can still feel the reeds quivering on my bare legs,
the welcome coolness of water running over them;
and those jam jars with string tied round the rim
in which to put our tiddlers, sticklebacks and newts.
I can still see the steam engine pulling the London train
on the rail track above the grassy slope behind the fence;
us waving to the engine drivers, and them waving back.
Almost seventy years ago and I still remember vividly
what happy summer days we shared as children.
We blossomed
like meadow flowers
‘neath the sun.
~
(c) Stella Armour 2015
