Startling Instant Memory

Riding an e-bike at 81,

I remembered, in a surprising flash,

riding a scooter at age 16.

I was coming home from a girlfriend’s house,

after dark on a country road. I yawned

and a June-bug hit me hard,

right in the back of the mouth.

On the e-bike, it was a smaller bug

that didn’t get past my lips and teeth;

but what was so astonishing was

the startling, instant memory.