Once - and Again

Each time we drive
the long winding road
and come to
the little country church
perched on the olden storybook corner -
in quiet dignity -

I go back
to that once-upon-a-time-place
where collection plates,
and chicken soup visits,
and choral group rehearsals,
sweetly dabbled
simply, in warm moments,

with a sort of kindness
that was as much -
in the nature of a day -
as the sunrise
in the morning.

I can't decide then, whether
I feel like a time traveler
going back to what was -
or if I am recalling
a lovely dream:

and wonder . . .
if it matters.

photo:  Country Church on Ioco Road - W. Bourke

© 2013 Wendy Bourke