Revisiting Then

I walk down

the lane again.

The hedges

have grown taller

almost touching the sky.

Birds fly overhead,

rooks call

from their high nests.

I walked here often then,

searching out bird's nests,

naming butterflies.

I even helped

bring the cows in

for milking

on school holidays,

glad to be of help,

and she would sometimes

come with me,

naming birds of insects

I didn't know

being a London boy,

or walked with me

to see the small church

and churchyard

with the long ago dead.

Now I stand alone

watching the birds

and butterflies,

wondering where

she went and when,

knowing only the past

and youth

and back then.