It Was Summer Time Then

It was summer time then

The country summer stood about you

Head high, sweet scents, the allures

Of flowers, undeniable in charm.

That was reality, no question.

You could not escape the immediate

Nor had any wish to do so.

Now it is not quite the same.

Question and answer, the broad design

Of living needs details to confirm it.

And summer time, the season’s beauty

Is forced behind the eyes.

The ears are absent and the scent

Of flowers eludes.  You would escape

And daily seek the loop the lead

To simplicity, the return to childhood.

Aged six, your companions,

The trust in the familiar, your parents’

Shadow falling across the grass

The acknowledged faith in authority.

Those eased your mind and left

The inquisitive life free to seek

All sensuousness without reflection.

In faith then lies delight of day and night.

So wander not alone, the obvious avoiding

Of complexity, but put your faith aright

In eyes that seek no truths, but contain

Their own uneasiness, in comfort quieten.

You cannot solve the world’s malady, but assuage

And without full span such help more hinders,