if I could choose one day

remembering

they would crawl

just one special day

through woodland labyrinths

16 january, 1994 LJA

on which to hang my memories

in search of

i would choose a rainy day

fuzzy caterpillars

a soft feathery rain day

rainbow-black beetles

in that sunlit world

from clouds that drift

fragile trillium

upon the pebbly strand

without hiding the sun

pale lady's slipper

with fern-spear wands

with a rainbow arching

and shimmering agates

weaving magic

from ear to ear

each with its special story

around their heads

between the mountainous heads

mystery cloaked

they would dance in ecstasy

of the cascade range

in nature's robe

to the music

there would be a waterfall

this would be the day

of the thundering rapids

and a giggling brook

i would choose

pounding feet echoing rhythms

with children

this kaleidoscope of memories

of other ceremonies

laughing children

once danced upon that shore.

i would place it in

feet deliciously wet

a picture frame

in the chilly flow

this world of yesterdays

of the snow-fed stream

collaged into one

towering trees

with matthew and me

CONTENTS

with lofty rustling arms

cousins

protecting their innocence

in that once upon a time

from the curious sky

a long time ago.