Of All the Places….

a handwritten poem in a journal

 

of all the

places,

i remember it

best.

 

 

 

our house

on the corner –

suburban Miami

circa 1970s:

3 bedrooms.

long hallway.

“florida” room.

tall

heater

on

the

living room

wall.

a front porch

for making

mud pies.

sunday dinners

on

the

homemade table.

jumping fish.

spilled spaghetti….

slid

right

off

the

plate!

boy, was mom

mad!

nail polish

in

the

carpet.

a bunny

(and his poo!)

in.the.house.

a dog

playing

in

our

yard.

pulling weeds

every

weekend.

cleaning

the

bathroom.

my bedroom

with

corner windows.

always

rearranging

my

books.

lots of books.

writing.

lisa t

lived across

the street

and one house

over.

cute mark,

her older brother.

his lisp

made him cuter!

terriann and

her little sister

lived

across and behind.

not so cute.

indeed.

riding

our

bikes.

teaching

gran

to ride.

a dark,

rainy

night

that

brought

thieves.

lawnmower

stolen

right out

of

the

neighbor’s

shed!

a normal life

then….

a real neighborhood:

neighbors.

playing

outside

‘til dark.

friends.

a safe backyard

complete with

playhouse —

adorned with

windows and

flowers.

a mom.

a dad.

a little sister.

{before there were two}

pets.

chores.

laughing.

fighting.

celebrations.

arguments.

getting

in

trouble.

on

restriction. . . .

a

wooden

paddle!

summer

camp.

.

.

.

of all the

places,

i remember it. . . . .

best.

 

~ Robin Le Roy-Kyle

January 15, 2017