Memories of Home

I said goodbye to the woods
back when the house was sold
Our little white aluminum sided
log cabin hidden at the end of the driveway
Having long ago packed for another place,
I returned to say goodbye to the trees
taking in the smell of the oak leaves and
laughing at the big mulberry
near the house it made for
a summer of sweeping the driveway
near several yard's worth of lawn
on our property
that I mowed every summer.
There is a wooded area to the front
where we used to play
house or tag or hide and seek
sometimes we just stood by the
fence and talked
wild wintergreen covering the ground
those red berries still bright in my mind
like the high place in the driveway
where the ground was good for sitting
just like my favorite clump of trees by the front fence.
We had two lady slippers that bloomed
every year like clockwork
they were jewels among the leaves there.
Our deer visited regularly to sample
my father's vegetable garden
along with my mother's flowers.
I said goodbye to the trees then
laying on the hood of my car
looking up at the blue sky, remembering
making sure I left last
taking the sign with our family name
closing the gate, turning left onto the street
for the last time.