Clouds and Memories

I drop under the azure sky,

fall onto the grass, fresh in spring,

sniff as if for the first time.

The little cat comes to join me,

picking up each paw to navigate the way.

She drops into the shade traced by my arm.

Then, she crawls away

to her better advantage.

Once I sat under this same sky

on a green hill

with a boy.

We laughed at the slow parade of cumulus clouds,

watched the white birds drifting:

an angel,

a circus clown —

a theater of our own.

poem and photo, Mary Elyn Bahlert, 2020, from Moments, Balboa Press, published 2026.