Where Mayapple Grew

Yesterday, I talked with someone from my childhood days,
and, I was reminded of things, I hadn't  thought of in awhile.
It was in the early 1960’s, we lived on a small farm in Rockholds Ky.
We had a cow named Phoebe, and lived a mostly quiet life.
Though we lived within a few hundred feet of a major highway,
the farm stretched for what seemed like miles behind our home.

We played in the big woods behind our house and walked through patches of Mayapple, 

standing like tiny umbrellas across the shaded forest floor.
One day our trek through the woods took us a little farther than we were
used to going.  We were within earshot, and clear sight of a railroad track,
we heard a train coming, and ventured a little closer out of curiosity.

Though we had seen trains when we went to town,

 viewing one up close was something we were not used to. 

 This particular day was eventual in it’s own way.  

We didn’t realize it then, but, we were watching history in the making.

We were a couple of hundred feet from the railroad track, 

and watched as the train slowly traveled the long stretch of rail.  

Our eyes widened when we saw the train cars loaded with missiles, 

with armed soldiers, standing along side them.  

We watched for awhile, not knowing exactly what this was about, 

but, decided we should run back to the house and tell mom about it.
We later found out about the Cuban Missile Crisis, then about a year later 

                                     our beloved President, John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
                                            On that warm and quiet day beyond the big woods
                                             where Mayapple grew, we watched history unfold.