childhood backyard

i love this little spot of earth

beneath this little patch of sky

the way the green leaves

shimmer and shine

in the morning light

the cacophonous symphony

of happy crickets

serenading

the summer night

time is short,

this place was never mine.

but i can still go back there

in my mind

where it is safe

and young

feel the cool delta breeze

blanketing my shoulders

the cracked cobblestone pavement

radiating the day's forgotton heat

on my feet