Don't Forget

by Joseph Sanders

don’t forget, what could i forget?
the things that you're forgetting
 
**
 
i often wondered how they'd navigate
when all they could see was the sun
 
could they turn into the wind
and feel the stern beneath them move
 
some great compass, some great compass
holds them to their steady course
 
never wondering, the sea is leading
they'll find their way to shore
 
**
 
don’t forget, what could i forget?
the things that you're forgetting
 
**
 
i often wondered when they'd scatter seeds;
begin to turn the ground to green
 
and know the yellow that came in late winter
would always yield and turn to spring
 
when the days stretched longer into weeks
and fossil eyes gazed upon my fallow fields
 
when buckets filled and overflowed
with water meant for dying trees
would you say it then? say it to me:
 
don’t forget, what could i forget?
the things that you're forgetting