I have several poems that are just too long to ever get published in anything other then a book or some such place. So today I give you one of them.
I originally wrote this piece in 1990 and it has floated around for years. After publication in a book entitled Pieces of Eight by Wordsmith Publishing in 1991, the poem has just sat in my briefcase. Today it is going digital.
Summer of '76
The warm June day
blows through trees
in gentle waves of silence.
Putting the kite together;
my brother tests the wind
with paper, string and wood.
Our kite touches clouds
mingling with birdsong
high above grass and hill.
With wind's awakening pace,
power lines snare our bird,
ending our day bittersweet.
My grandfather wields
a homemade baseball bat
squinting into the sun.
Baseballs soar beyond
the barnyard fence;
my arm growing listless.
We switch places;
Grandpa catching pitiful
grounders from my bat.
Grandpa relives the past,
teaching me fundamentals
older then baseball.
The antique cane pole
quivers in the current
of the cool creek.
Using hand-tied flies
with years of fish,
colors skim on the surface.
Lurking brown trout
watch from fallen cedars,
testing childhood patience.
A string of triumph
is worth walking
the long road home.
Confetti and balloons
float through July haze,
coloring parade day.
Every marching band,
classic car and fire truck
passed through town.
Carnival noises and odors
drift through the county fair
enticing and delighting.
The clear night sky
explodes in memory
of pride and perseverance.
Another bale of hay
is stacked amid dust
mixed with summer sweat.
The old farmer's bent back
struggles through the chore
of keeping the farm alive.
Two young city boys
are fascinated by the farm
and the life they miss.
The wagon load is stacked
in the loft of the barn
amid dreams and livelihood.
Cars park on the lawn
where men and boys split
from the women carrying food.
The beer supply dwindles
as men talk business,
pitching worn horseshoes.
The women chat about family,
recipes and babies,
setting a banquet homemade.
The traditional reunion
bonds the diverse family
for a few hours of memories.
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