clear transparent blue sky 
clouds  
painted with tender touches 
of  soft blues - violets 
elusive tints from 
greyish blue to red violet 
magically appear and disappear 
as my eyes scan the sky 
... 
it had not changed 
it was the same sky 
the sky of my childhood 
... 
in my childhood memory 
I lay on the green grass 
feeling the coolness of the earth 
on my back 
looking up at the sky 
looking in wonderment 
at the colours 
the elusive ever changing 
delicate tints of colours 
... 
memories merge 
in the sky above me 
the intervening years vanish 
it is the moment 
the moment my  
retirement becomes real 
the burden of working life 
the responsibilities 
the schedules 
all 
float away 
leaving behind 
me 
a carefree child 
... 
gone 
was the world of doing 
I had returned 
to the world of being 
... 

Keith  O'Connor 
Ottawa  Canada 
2001  aug  29 
www.tinmangallery.com