Nevers Dam Trail Again 

 Two years ago
 As they were looking down the long pathway
  Twenty feet above swamp
   Or would you call it “Wetlands?”
  On both sides
The family heard frogs.
And now they hear them again
 They didn’t hear them last year – maybe they came a week too early
  Or too late
But again they have difficulty seeing them.

There have been changes since their first visit.

This time neither the husband or the wife has anyone on their back
 Since all the of kids can walk
  Although the youngest still asks to be held
   From time to time

Since the last visit the family has changed homes, cars, churches and they have gained a child
They have made their way through different kinds of swamps
 With the help of others
Including the Engineer who, many years before, had created a path for them.
  They remain thankful

So this year the father decides that the idea of bringing the kids down
 The steep rocky, loosely soiled bank
closer to the waters
 and the frogs
Is not a temptation to resist
But a challenge to accept
 The mother is not so sure

So, starting with the oldest
 But soon the younger kids want to come to
The father brings the kids
 One by one
Down to the shore
 All of them enjoy it but two:
  The youngest,
who doesn’t like standing on uneven ground
  And the mother
   Who doesn’t enjoy holding the youngest
    While standing on uneven ground

There they watch the frogs
They look into the water
They spot a crayfish
 Which the father
  It takes him two attempts
 Grabs and shows the family
  To the great pleasure of all
   Besides the youngest, the mother, and the crayfish
They head back up to the path
 This is another
  One person at a time
 Challenge – happily accepted
And soon
 Once they had gotten the rocks and sand out of their shoes
The were back on their yearly pilgrimage to the beatified river

By the grace of the Engineer, the family is indeed making it