Pussywillow’s

by Ami (Gypsie) Offenbacher-Ferris

Passed a patch of pussywillows today

I thought of you and smiled

How you’d make Dad stop each time

To gather a bushel from the swamp

He never fussed he didn’t complain

That in itself a sweet blessing to us

We three girls would sit and watch

As our Dad traversed those Florida swamps

Never a thought nor did he mind

Those alligators standing by

Why they let my Daddy be

Is still a mystery to me

Upon the shelf she kept her prize

Fluffy puffs of nature’s whim

Until the day they dropped their seed

Then back to the swamp we went

Years and years have passed

Since last I saw her smile

Dads gone to join her now

A sprig of fluff in his tight hand

I passed a patch of pussywillows today

Your voice a distant memory

Upon my shelf now sits a bunch

Of willows from your favorite swamp