Remembrance of things past

Silently drifting through the tree

the smoke of a thousand campfires

is drawn deep into

my soul

by a sigh

across a fire not seen but seen

my parents, long departed

stand

my father tall and strong

my mother short and dynamic

happy in each other

loving the moment

laughing

across the fire not seen but seen

my children play

wrestling in flickering light

characters in an old time movie

jerky movements expressing delight

in life

across the years

I have sat by fires

Smelling this smell

savoring the moment

under the fullness of the moon

time disappears

and hurt

and disappointment

and once again I am

that little boy

who ran with carefree exuberance

through the woods

and saw life as magic

the smell of a thousand campfires

tickles my nose

____________________________

occasioned by the smell of a wood fire

while on an evening walk

a Proustian experience of a smell or sight

or sound

bringing back a memory

a Remembrance of Things Past