I wandered vacated pathways once owned
In youthful power so long ago, when we
Eagerly tasted life's delicacies, hurrying
On to each new offering before it would fade
Leaving our pallates dissatisfied.

The hollow where my love and I were
Caught one fleeting day as raindrops fell
Like BBs shot from an ancient squirrel gun,
Stinging; to make us laugh the louder and
Mock our smarting discomfort.

The sloping cliffs we scaled together,
Gazing back at the wonderland we had left
Growing ever distant as we climbed higher;
Reaching the summit after strain and delay,
Triumphant -- the proud conquerors.

The glazed waters of a hidden pool
Where we annoited our nudity in cool depths,
Drying brownly on sandy beaches; noisy,
Happy in our unmolested solitude,
Cherishing, as the gourmet a banquet.

The cottage where we lived in snug comfort;
The garden, once cultivated, lost to weed;
The wild pine tree we planted a sappling
Grown massive and gnarled from seasons gone by;
Bleak mementos to the magnitude of time.

Breathing intensely the air of our youth,
Devouring life's fruits, reveling in love,
Gamboling through flowery fields of clover,
Ruthless with the wild ecstacy of living
In the little world we once owned.