Okauchee Summers

It was a small town, just a village,

not even incorporated,

but it had elm trees and lilacs, a big lake,

and back then,

the homes weren’t yet outdated.

We were poor, but it was all of us,

 so we didn’t know it.

Everyone had gardens, fished and hunted,

wasted nothing that cost nothing,

shared their bounty, their friendship,

and neighborliness, they showed it.

Daytime fun was free, mostly in the lake,

but there was also tag and war and hide-and-seek,

and man oh man, the noise we’d make.

Neighboring farms had silos of corn and piles of hay,

and you don’t know kids if you think

we couldn’t turn that into play.

Nights were for crabbing, and fires and more,

on holidays, sparklers, marshmallows,

 y’know, non-chocolate s’mores.

But the best parts of the nights were reserved for the skies,

the stars and Milky Way, the awesome fireflies.

We’re blessed with more bounty now,

perhaps more reasons to smile,

yet, if I could go back….(oh, just for awhile).