Nostalgic - Nov. 16, 2023

for that childhood creek

spilling out the neighbor’s pond

and hidden under the rocks -

crayfish and tadpoles

silver minnows

with big eyes

and little fingers I held

the twists and wiggles

and looked in their eyes

I remembered releasing them

exactly where they were found

and went back to visit

again and again

those secret little lives

touched a part of me

that was deeper

than the life

of a little

kid