Summer haze came and went 
Too fast 
Only with time can flowers of youth 
Bloom the colours of age 
Only now can I know 
What was lost 

Simple rise and fall 
Gave cadence to days 
In the endless sun
That rolled into weeks 
Faster than we
Could care to notice 

The landscape 
Bore ponds of fish 
Fields of tall horses 
And nestled in woods 
A hut   
Our summer home 

This place
Revealed my colours 
Good and bad  
Self-discovery of another kind 
Far from home 
No shade to hide   

The contradiction   
That my inexperienced hands of time 
Could not grip events passed 
Tortures todays waking hours 
What cruelty 
To suffer  

How might I use this experience 
In my future 
Other than to note 
Understanding  
That cannot be taught 
But must be learnt