One Last Time

One Last Time

One last summer to smell the green,

Water the roses, sit out on the deck drinking coffee.

One last sweeping of lady bug carcasses

And snaking the toilet with its quirky septic.

No more raking leaves, winterizing,

Or emptying the water tank before a freeze.

No more no more.

We are told to hold things lightly

In order to let them go.

We held on too tight

And now it’s time to say good bye.

Good bye kissing tree,

Good bye bass pond,

Good bye blue heron and rope swing.

Good bye good bye memories.

One last time I want to soak it all in.

The bird calls, the low hum of insects,

The open sky and mosaic of sunlight beneath the trees.

A day can’t be 24 hours—why not forever?

Forever golden morning, forever long afternoon.

Forever lavender lingering twilight, forever moonlight.

Forever the magic of the hour which isn’t an hour,

But only lasts a moment.

Last walk to the lake to see the wind ripple the surface.

We jump in one last time

And discover the cold spot where the spring feeds in,

Touch the silty depths with our toes.

Good bye ancient catfish trolling the bottom

Goodbye silly blue gills and the ones that got away

Good bye snapping turtle, good bye snakes sunning in the mud.

I will miss the shifting clouds, the darting jays,

The butterflies skimming the puddles.

The rise and fall of bumblebees above the breezy wildflowers.

The dust at dusk floating like a Japanese screen

Before drowned by the heavy dew.

I will miss seeing you, seeing everything

One last time.

The sun now level with the tops of the trees

One last blazing sunset at the intersection of

Jesus Village and Skateboard Park

I hear the haunting melody, one last concert

Of the ghost bands and circle dancers.

And as the sun slips below the horizon

The Technicolor buses of yesteryears dim.

The Flying Fish Camp has moved on.

One last train whistle serenades

while the embers of one last campfire smolder

Beneath the last of the stars.

We always knew there would be one last time,

We just didn’t know it would be

Now.