I remember the scent of eucalyptus wafting on the wind.
I remember the scent of summer rain on the hot, dry dirt road.
I remember dust devils swirling down that same dirt road before the rain came.
I remember the hot, arid Santa Ana winds in the California sun, pushing wildfires in their path.
I remember carrots and green beans and radishes and cucumbers (and dill) and ripe red tomatoes in the garden.
I remember riding my bike to the Elliots’ house and barely making it up their steep paved driveway off the dirt road below.
But mostly, I remember the scent of eucalyptus.
This poem was inspired by the April 5 prompt from The Daily Poet by Kelli Russell Agodon & Martha Silano.
4/28/15 Update: Decided to share this today at dVerse Poets Pub where Mary asks us to write about where we are from. I’d already written a poem today for the NaPoWriMo prompt, and when I read Mary’s post I thought of this poem.