Long years ago, a summer's day,
A buzzing hum was there
And childish voices rose and fell
In rhythm on the air.
A little girl, who read quite well,
A tall slim boy, stained blue --
Funny - through all these long, long years.
I well remember you.

How haltingly you read or spelled,
Yet how magically could draw,
With those long and narrow fingers,
You wove a world of awe:
The aeroplanes, the steamers tossed
Upon a swift-drawn sea --
I watched each line, and through the years,
The memory stays with me.

How long you lived, I do not know,
Nor when you passed away,
But come swift to mind, whene'er I draw
And on a summer's day,
The magic of a thin, tall boy,
Skin blue-stained, and frail,
Whose dark deep eyes brought art alive
And to my dreams set sail.
(Mar 8, 1967)