Barbara

I remember it well
the smell
Of wild mint
From around your ankles
As we walked barefoot
Through the meadow
That ran down to the river

I remember it well
The swell of your belly
As you lay on dew dappled
Clover and meadowsweet
As I ran my fingers
Down, and up, your arm
Trailing beads of your sweat

I remember it well
The glint
On the rim of your glasses
Of that July’s sun
As we lay amongst
the reeds and the grasses
holding hands all that summer

and how can I ever forget
The look on your face
As you came back from the hunt
Your face blooded and flushed
The steamy sweating horse
Between your legs
And lust in your eyes

And I knew then
That we would never again
Have a summer of holding hands
In grasses or reeds
And that forever the smell of wild mint
And the river
Would remind me of Barbara