Heritage Poem by James Atkins

Beneath the pale glow of a sky choked with clouds
where moonlight seemed merely suggestion,
Three of us walked through the wind’s muted rush
Under branches we’d climbed long ago.

A whispering sea of rippling grey grass
We stepped into half-light without casting shadows
Our footsteps behind us, scattered paths in the frost
To probably fade before dawn.

Down and away towards avenues darker
Chased by a curtain of rain at our backs
Following the twists and the bends of a creek
Now swollen and flooded and fast.

Three of us walked through a storm in the night
Wind surging around us, thunder blooming above
The cold bit us deeply but we didn’t notice
For remembrance had caught us offguard.

The moment was heavy and silence prevailed
For we didn’t have words that would say what was needed
Tied to each other in more ways than we knew
Three of us chose separate paths -

and began the long walk home