“Young”

The young woman and me

We sat on opposite sides

Of one of a half dozen

Crowded picnic tables

Scattered about  the

Thousand Oaks “Bark Park”

She

Sitting to the far right

Of the bench

The young woman of

Oh

Possibly twenty-three

I don’t think aware

That I had sat

On the opposite side

The young woman

Sat looking downward

And me

An old man of

Seventy-nine

Looking forward

Sat to the far left

Of my bench

Fiddling with her phone

Possibly playing a game

Or sending a text

Every now and then

Looking up

A slight whistle would

Emit from the young woman’s lips

To remind the energetic little white

Mixed breed dog that she

Was still here

That she was still watching

As Mushi

I think not so enraptured

With the tumult

And multitude of mixed scents

From the hundreds

Or possibly thousands

Or possibly millions of urination's

That had soaked

The ground of the Thousand Oaks Bark Park

Mushi sat contemplating the throng of dogs

Doing doggy things…

Like running

Mushi sat within the shade within easy reach.

A lovely day

With the mid-afternoon

Southern California

Spring sun treating us

To a near eighty degree day

Along with a slight

Balmy breeze

The slight

Balmy breeze

Bringing to me the scent of the young woman

The scent of the young woman

Being

I didn’t know

Spice or floral

I didn’t know

I couldn’t place the scent

Except the wonderful scent

Of this young

Oh

Possibly twenty-three year old

Woman brought me back sixty-three years…

Brought back

Sixty-three years

To the wonderfully warm

Spice or floral

Scent of youth

The scent

Of a girl from my youth

Of a girl

That I knew not whom

And I sat with my eyes closed

Savoring

Savoring the gentle balmy breeze that

Brought the scent of this young woman to me

Bringing to me the scent

Of long forgotten love

Bringing to me the scent of…?

The scent of the young woman

Bringing to me the scent of

“Young”