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Summertime

Barkerville, British Columbia


reddened, swelled bumps on legs and arms;
horrible bites itching like mad.
several mosquitoes must have feasted on me at night
while I slept inside the camper van at B'ville.
I didn't stand a chance!

I have tried all the remedies -
Absorbine Jr., Calamine Lotion, Lanacane -
products from the pharmacy shelf
that work to a certain degree.

then I recalled the baking soda paste
that my mother used to dab
on each one of my bites
to prevent scratching and infection.

today, as I mixed and applied this soothing mixture,
I thought of those long ago times
and the white dots that I wore
during mosquito season on the prairies.  

~ April