A POEM ABOUT CHILDHOOD SUMMERS IN MISSOURI

 Here is another poem I have written recalling memories of long ago vacations.

THOSE SUMMERS                                                                        

I remember sultry, sweaty summers

visiting relatives in Missouri, traveling

like gypsies from one home to another,

we ‘city kids’ always eager

for the once-a-year farm adventures--

 

Riding bareback astride a coarse horse blanket, 

feeling the bristly coat of the steed chafe

against our calves; The fun and fear of feeding hogs,

mom adamant we enter the pen barefoot, we not realizing 

the composition of the ooze beneath our feet;

 

Haphazard attempts to pluck eggs from feisty chickens 

reluctant to give up the treasure hidden within feathery nests;

Milking cows as cats begged for spurts of cream 

from sagging teats, feeding more to felines than to the bucket;

 

Harvesting bounty from generous vegetable gardens, me 

consuming more tomatoes than I gathered;

Digging up potatoes, carrots, and onions

from muddy soil, almost tasting the stew

we would feast upon that evening;

 

The delight we had playing ‘scarecrow’ in the cornfield, 

swaying in the temperate breeze, wailing 

to frighten off ravenous crows; Acquiring patience 

as we ‘drowned worms’ eager to hook the colossal catfish

grandpa alleged inhabited his reedy pond.

 

The laughable screams from my sister and me as we beheld 

a headless chicken dash around, later fleeing brothers armed 

with severed chicken claws; Rescuing wriggling kittens 

being dropped through the pipe in the root cellar roof

by the same mischievous brothers.

Pursuing fireflies, always just one blink behind,

but able to capture a few each evening,

watching their glow within a jelly jar.

Our brothers smeared the insect goo upon

their scrawny arms to glow in the dark.

 

Sometimes I yearn to once again be that lighthearted little girl

visiting kin in Missouri during the sultry,

                                       sweaty

                                    summer.