For Aaron, 17, away for the summer
Each summer we tied
cut-off plastic milk jugs
to our waists,
freeing our greedy hands
to grab clusters of dusky blueberries
from the high bushes down the old cart path.
We sang out to each other
Come over here! There’s more!
In a photo from one of those days
you’re half a high-bush tall.
Driving last night on the dark river
of Route 6 up the arm of the Cape
I happened upon a Mozart piano sonata
on the radio. The music was water
quenching a great thirst. I hadn’t known
how much I missed the sound
of your piano throughout the house.
On a hill overlooking the Bay
Cory and I meander from patch to patch
picking low-bush berries.
It’s so quiet, this life without children
though we are talking, old friends.
I remember a time of great longing
before you were born and now
longing again.
Sharon Dunn is the author of An Island in Time: Exploring Bound Brook Island, Its Land & People, Its Past & Present
Submit poems to [email protected]. Include your full name, complete home address, and a telephone number where you can be reached. If the poem has appeared elsewhere, supply complete information about previous publication with permission from the publisher if necessary. Poetry editors Bob Kuttner and Becky Okrent will let you know if your poem has been accepted.
