Memories

You like to recall the past
The last time this and the last time that
You scratch like a chicken
Searching for summer's seeds
In the rich farmyard of your memories.

You remember well it seems
How golden passion gleams and glitters
How the rooster struts and preens
As the tardy hen submits and glows
In the fertile dust of your past.

You remember well the hell
Which tears and sears and singes
Marks which never fade, never fade
The scars of battles won and lost
Treasured trophies in your vault.

Reluctantly I look back
And hack and hack at thorny thickets
Search for my trove of memories
The last time this and the last time that
Find all my own and none of yours.