Springtime passions
when you’re all of 11
Trying to fly with sheets
in the scouring, dusty winds
of a New Mexico March
Digging tiger pits with
a dull shovel in
the overgrown, dirt lot
Daring each other to
jump from the leaning
Tower of Haystack
Daydreaming in the purple haze
of the fragrant alfalfa field
under a sapphire sky
the old mare grazing near bare feet
.
Roughhousing near the cactus patch.
Playing rustlers and sheriff with
blue smoking cap guns
Prized cats-eye marble collections
shoved into faded denim
pockets at ballet class
Bareback riding contests on
ornery Shetland ponies and
green broke horses
Poking seeds in rich
garden dirt, thinking of
warm summer tomatoes
and too-big zucchini
sold door to door from
a wobbly Radio Flyer wagon
Springtime memories
when you’re all of 58
flying through time
in the scouring, dusty winds
of a New Mexico March
