I Had Forgoten

I had forgotten, the smell of the open air, dirt and grass mixed in with manure and oil, the occasional summer storm bringing its dew and cleansing away all things dull and the sun shining bright on a new day. I had forgotten. The feeling of the long green blades as they stabbed at my ankles, little natural fingers warning me to go home and stay away, from this untouched patch of land. I forgot, the sound of the horses as they galloped and chattered, the feel of their hair, short and course against my palm and their thick lips that would slobber over my fingers as I fed them treats of victory that celebrated a long day of good work. How could I have forgotten all this?
The land is empty now, lost to time and the ghosts trot around the pens with the echoes of laughter, children’s song and animal calls blending into a song of youth. The grass still stabs at my legs, having overgrown enough to stick to my jeans and remind me of a life long gone. The barn is in ruins, poor ma, she just couldn’t keep up all on her own. What was once bright and gaudy red, was a dull dried-blood brown, like a scab waiting to be peeled and open anew the painful wounds.
A plane roars overhead, temporarily taking my eyes from the wilds up into the open sky. How beautiful! The painters have been generous today, mixing the sunset with oranges and purples, a lovely backdrop to the tall spires that stand imposingly in the distance. Nostalgically, I remember imagining those natural towers as far off castles, where dragons had captured a princess and me and my siblings were going to save her, battling off dragons who spat dust devils instead of fire and we would have roved through rivers of cactus and desert, until we would be rewarded with enough riches to buy a house far away from the old creaky farm we called home.
Dreams, so long gone, are breathed anew within me.