Come
Sit down beside me
Let us return
Just for a moment
And only in our mind
To a time long ago
When women gathered
Around city fountains
To gossip and laugh and chatter
As they took care of
Their families and their towns
Dressed in layers
Upon layers
But still not hiding
Their feminine charms or figures
Back to a time when love
Was passionately experienced
On picnics
In hidden woods
Or through poetry
Spoken tenderly
On bended knee
Followed by a stolen kiss
Most conveniently
A time before technology
Where all things
Were extravagant
In their simplicity
E.A. Fussell
03.07.2020
E. A. Fussell 