Taste of Summer

 

Recalling from childhood;

(ten or eleven?)

the thin layer of paraffin

that sealed the jar

of strawberry jam.

Large, luscious berries

that we picked in June fields

while the sun warmed our backs.

That gray disc of wax preserved 

the sweet taste of summer,

strawberry jam, spread on warm, buttered toast;

a rare treat for a winter breakfast

in the late nineteen-fifties. 

© 2022 Richard Havenga