Simon Haines Poems | The Recusant

Simon Haines

Summers Then

Summer days were longer then

we played outside all day,

not tempted by alluring screens

or interfering strangers.

The buddleia next door

brought brightly coloured butterflies:

red admirals, tortoiseshells, and more

with names we didn’t know.

Without fear of predators,

innocent and confident,

though on display and vulnerable,

playing in the sun.

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