Millstone Creek

Bridge from the Go Out and See series - Walter Smith

My best memories
Are wrapped up
In the summertime haze
Of Grandpa’s farm,
The rickety old barn,
The swirling waters
Of  Millstone Creek,
And you.

I remember the summer
I turned ten,
Our shoes and socks
Strewn on the bank,
Jeans rolled up to our knees
As we waded into
That cool Appalachian water,
Plastic cups in hand,
Chasing silvery-black minnows
Darting between our legs
And collecting them
In a bucket
To be used as bait
For larger targets later.
Afterward we lay in the grass
And painted our innocent dreams
Across the mountain sky
With the fearlessness
That only the young possess.

I returned the summer
I turned sixteen,
And more than just
Our shoes and socks
Ended up on the bank
As I waded back
Into those swirling waters
And into your arms,
Emerging a little less innocent
And lost in the first spark of love.
The promises we made
Lying in the grass
Fluttered around us
Like a thousand fireflies
Lighting the evening sky,
Promises we never realized
We could not keep.

Summer after summer passed,
But I never returned
To the farm,
To Millstone Creek,
Or to you.
Life has swept me up
In its swirling waters,
Altering my memories,
Fading the colors
Into shadowy remnants.
If I had just one wish,
I’d travel back down
That quiet country road,
Back to Millstone Creek,
Back to your arms,
Back to the promise
My heart never forgot.