Little John Creek

There were rows of cattails on Little John Creek

Among the reeds I’d find a fresh quail nest.

I would gather the eggs for the incubator,

This was country living at its best.

There were fresh eggs in the morning,

Pulling weeds both day and night;

Every chore was the hardest work,

Now seen as leisure in current hindsight.

I walked the acres every day,

Testing the charged electric fence…

Thirty years later I moved to an island,

And missed those chores ever since.

I haven’t had a bad life,

Some days I wade in cold sea foam…

Yet the day you hold your own soil,

Imprints the location you call home.

Home Again

Nearing seven decades of life,
I catch my memories drifting...
Every now and then my thoughts
Require others, to do the heavy lifting.

This line requires your patience,
Perform this cut and paste...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdRUQWVGENo
Stay a while, don't leave in haste.

Grammar School Bullies

I used to envy the neighbors,

Their Cadillac had rocket ship fins…

The mother always wore hats and gloves,

While reeling from imported gins.

Her son was the public pool lifeguard,

He was also the high school sport hero…

My mother drove a Corvair to work

I was a nerd and rated zero.

Then there was Evan Legaspe,

He flipped boogers on everyone’s back…

No one ever picked on Evan,

Or they’d suffer a ruptured nut sack.

I remember when I captured

John Hunter, playing doctor in the oaks…

He thought he could silence me,

By smashing my bike’s tire rim and spokes.

I hated being the smallest kid,

K through eighth was constant strife…

Until a miraculous growth spurt,
Stepped in and saved my life.

Walking from Carmel Summer School

Bullies detained me with a threat…

I split their eyebrows open

With the case of my clarinet.

I grew up hating mean bullies,

Spending my adult years being kind…

I am the opposite of those I envied,

I’m the man with peace of mind.

Missing a Few Strangers

Now and then, I’d see a face,

Not the body, just the face…

Someone I could love forever;

Every day and in every place.

Loving hearts seen in their eyes,

Their spirit, naked and whole…

Smiles that gently lured me,

Towards innocent, perfect souls.

Passing trains on opposite tracks,

Never led us to each other’s home…

Yet still I picture their their faces,

Are any like me, still alone?