how quickly this summer flicks by
light bursts dawn into greens then blues
noon yellows toward twilight hues
time under color hides its flight
Four Lines
every now and then comes that
perfect summer day breezes blow
through wide open windows and doors
throwing joy around with the chaff
Four Lines
my mind can roam free from time why
then does each tick of the clock wrap
my body closer in its grasp
until life confined breathless dies
Four Lines
just that once too long hesitate
change my fate cause the sun to shine
every other Thursday night
hold the moon til it’s a month late
Four Lines
these gaps and holes are worrisome
what if I step into one let
myself falter just that once rest
too long
Four Lines
progress and one-hundred forty
years collapsed water into streets
Canal Wall Wabash and Erie
names that echo faintly
Four Lines
the canal breached wilderness
dense forest too shallow rivers
quilted with huckleberry bogs
frontier dank fertile dangerous
Four Lines
at its inception could anyone
imagine how the Iron Horse
would conquer rails replaced canals
nearly before the ditch was done
Four Lines
Erie Canal an earthen ditch
all but stagnant water breeding
malaria and collecting
garbage but the boats would be grand
Four Lines
footsteps ringing on axe-hewn floors
new rope stacked bins brimming with nails
cut leather stale tobacco smoke
atmosphere of old hardware store
