Tag Archives: Children

The Summer Treat

children, Humor, Poetry, Summer, , , , , , , , ,

There’s sweat above my lip
That drips upon my tongue
My hair is sticking to my skin
And everything feels undone

My mom said to turn off TV
But what else can we do
The neighbors pool is fenced and locked
They fled to look for cool

I cannot play outside for long
Without melting in this heat
Shade from our tree is taken
By Great Aunt Bernadette

She sits and waves her fan
Back and forth before her face
She gave us candy in a bag
From a very special place

The heat and the humidity
I am truly sad to say
Made one gigantic glob of it
That we had to throw away

I cannot even go barefoot
Into our box of sand
It burns between my toes
And clings where I can’t stand

Dad said that after dinner
We would visit our favorite shop
Til then I will simply have to dream
Of how great it will be to stop

And look at all those flavors
In line waiting for our treats
With all the people just like me
On ice-cream soon will feast

The Fossil

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The Fossil

 

I noticed it 

            while walking

With my children 

         Over 

the twisting 

                   bumpy trails

That boys like,

      rough, 

               unsure

                      Slightly

                           Dangerous

This mother’s mind

       Concentrating 

On the safe 

              footfall

Six other feet

She wills

              With a shifting 

But Persistent Gaze

Be careful

For 

      any 

            troublesome 

                   Spot

                Loose dirt

             Gives warning

     Haste of only 

One, 

Is

All 

It 

Would 

Take

To 

Spoil

It

Again…Be Careful

The view lost in her diligence

             The sunshine 

                     sneaking through

Without invitation, 

no arm 

Holding back the way

Its brilliance

Glinting on a fragment

          Stop a second she suggests

Look 

        There

                 A bone, 

Pulling it

              Free

Wooly mammoth, giant tortoise, T-Rex, 

Squabbling paused with 

We will be famous, like that Leaky guy from science class

Then a trained eye, wise, reasoned 

It’s just a deer bone, boys…see

His explanation lost as we move on

The youngest 

       pleading to bring it home

Sure

Knowing the desire to keep

This day propped
Against his wall

A polished memory

Possibilities in every fossil

 

 

The Skatepark

children, Family, Friendship, Parenting, recreation, , , , , , , ,

Calmly observing from this top perch of
Bleachers strewn with water bottles
A random scooter laid to its rusty rest
Boys on skateboards, scooters, trick bikes
Curving, jumping and skidding over ramps
That call out with metal thuds and bangs
In regularity becoming less startling
Enjoying the peace of watching the undisclosed
Keeping track these boys have of each other
They move in and out, brightly colored ribbons
Streaming around, over, past each other, no collisions
Prepared orchestration not required in this movement of boys
Levels of confidence obvious as they motion to watch
The skinny kid, feathered hair flying, as tires rise aloft above
The high end of the steepest ramp,
Heels pushing pedals to contract the body off the seat
A bird in flight turning in midair
Lifting tire to the sky in backward salute to the sun,
Steep descent to a forward landing bouncing pirouette
Momentary balancing pause, then
Proceeding in effortless direction across the concrete park
His almost unseen sideways glance to his audience
Minimal evidence he cares there is witness to his grace and ease

Mommy Is a Clean Freak

Family, motherhood, Parenting, ,

My children, they say
I’m a clean freak
Not so, I’m tidy
There are the dust bunnies
One can see them on hands and knees
Guests don’t crawl, not at my house anymore
The dust bunnies are safe;
I am neat, so I am safe
You’ll thank me one day
Or your husband or wife will
My liberal stance evident as they are all boys
I do not limit their play to clean
The ps3 to make beds
To scrub, mop, dust
Beyond normal limits
Does not interfere with
Enjoying their childhood fun
The whole time I’m talking the memory
That messy and dirty meant poor,
Unloved, uncared for
This is our home I say
I’m not comfortable
In a mess, it distracts me,
Makes me think of things I
Do not want my mind lingering on
Pick it up or it’s gone
I demand
It’s my house now
No clutter
Just do what I say
When you have your own house
You can be a self possessed secure person
Comfortable
In sloppiness
I was not wired that way
I’m sorry

Litany

parent catagory, ,

Eat your vegetables, you won’t grow big and strong
(Mary Mother of God keep him healthy)
Wear a coat and a hat, you’ll get pneumonia
(Mary Mother of God keep him healthy)
Brush those teeth, you’ll thank me someday
(Mary Mother of God keep him healthy)
Wash your hands, you don’t know how many people touched that
(Mary Mother of God keep him healthy)
Chew your food, you’re gonna choke
(Mary Mother of God keep him healthy)

Hold onto the railing, you’ll fall down the stairs
(Mary Mother of God keep him safe)
Don’t run in the house, you’ll knock your teeth out
(Mary Mother of God keep him safe)
Wear a helmet, you’ll crack your head open
(Mary Mother of God keep him safe)
Look both ways and don’t play in the street, you’ll get hit by a car
(Mary Mother of God keep him safe)
Wear your seatbelt, you’ll fly through the windshield
(Mary Mother of God keep him safe)

Tell the bully to stop, you’ll never feel good about yourself
(Mary Mother of God protect him)
Don’t play that video game, you’ll become violent
(Mary Mother of God protect him)
Say no if a friend offers you drugs, you’ll become a drug addict
(Mary Mother of God protect him)
Don’t talk to strangers, you’ll get taken from me and who knows what
(Mary Mother of God protect him)
If a gunman comes into your classroom?
Mary Mother of God where are you?