Bright Air & Ashes

It catches me sometimes

when I’m unaware, when I 

step out to feel the warmth

on my face, to hear the birds,

the bright air in full sun

that tastes of dirt and light,

like the earth after a blue-sky

rain — the taste of childhood.

That scent takes me to swings

and trees, to my Lemon Twist

and Big Wheel; those days

we ran our neighborhood

and every mother gave us

Kool-Aid and Popsicles.

We knew the schoolyard

after-hours as much as our

learned days spent looking

at chalk dust and sitting on

hard chairs, all those hours

we hung from monkey-bars,

hopscotched, sang out 

Red-rover, and, inevitably, 

all fell down.

—C.L. Fisher, October 2020

Unless otherwise indicated, all writings and images are the work of C.L. Fisher and may not be copied, used, or distributed without permission.

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