{"id":978,"date":"2016-04-04T00:16:35","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T05:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poemsforpatti.com\/love\/?p=978"},"modified":"2016-04-04T00:16:35","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T05:16:35","slug":"a-dream-of-wonder-my-backyard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poemsforpatti.com\/love\/2016\/04\/04\/a-dream-of-wonder-my-backyard\/","title":{"rendered":"A Dream of Wonder (My Backyard)"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a dream of wonder, such as when I was a young boy,<\/span><\/p>\n

Through the air I flew in search of a magic moment of joy,<\/span><\/p>\n

My red cape blowing in the wind creating a turbulence tail,<\/span><\/p>\n

I was Superman strong because I was a super hero of tale,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Age eight is a beautiful age of childhood dreams and fun,<\/span><\/p>\n

Everything is new and wonderful that you haven’t done,<\/span><\/p>\n

An old car tire can bring so many different games to life,<\/span><\/p>\n

In my backyard where little boys are hidden from life’s strife,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Daddy please join me, mama you can play too if you want to,<\/span><\/p>\n

I have a lot of cars, red or blue, I have at least a gazillion two,<\/span><\/p>\n

See my road daddy made for me to play upon but I was bad,<\/span><\/p>\n

I hurt his feelings but I just wanted a circle at the end I had,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My heart suddenly feels heavy just thinking about that time,<\/span><\/p>\n

Daddy, I’m so sorry if you are in a place to read this rhyme,<\/span><\/p>\n

Little boys can’t stop their mouths at times when it’s wrong,<\/span><\/p>\n

Daddy I wanted to be a good man just like you, nice and strong,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Against a line of trees that harbored cicadas that sang at night,<\/span><\/p>\n

My daddy built a road for me to play upon to little boy’s delight,<\/span><\/p>\n

I ran my cars up and down the road stopping at a brick home,<\/span><\/p>\n

One lone brick with drawn on windows, and a roof of foam,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My backyard has a baseball diamond also a basketball goal,<\/span><\/p>\n

How I wish I was there again, for but a minute, I’d pay the toll,<\/span><\/p>\n

To have my mama kiss my booboo and make me whole again,<\/span><\/p>\n

To see my daddy wink at me as my hit helped my team win,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In my dream we stopped in the alley behind my house to play,<\/span><\/p>\n

Erosion created a narrow creek cut into the earth a special way,<\/span><\/p>\n

One foot wide and three foot deep, large enough to dig roads,<\/span><\/p>\n

Roads for little cars and a dump truck for the real heavy loads,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little figurines were all about creating a city on the cliff’s side,<\/span><\/p>\n

Cliff’s Side was the name of my town that I had built with pride,<\/span><\/p>\n

Then I saw all the kids playing in our backyard swimming pool,<\/span><\/p>\n

On a hot summer day it was lots of fun and a good way to cool,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once I was a miner and I dug tunnels to mine for gold ore,<\/span><\/p>\n

It was then I discovered I have to get permission to dig before,<\/span><\/p>\n

So many dimensions existed in my backyard of mostly fun,<\/span><\/p>\n

Once when young my mother didn’t know me from anyone,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I was eleven when my mother’s mind gave way to her woes,<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps it was my seven siblings and me for all this boy knows,<\/span><\/p>\n

What did I do wrong I wonder as I cry hidden behind a tree,<\/span><\/p>\n

Not until I heard my daddy, if not for him a little boy would flee,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Three of my friends lost their mamas so very young in life,<\/span><\/p>\n

Such pain shouldn’t be known by children, it cuts like a knife,<\/span><\/p>\n

As I gain altitude I fly Coble Drive four blocks to the park,<\/span><\/p>\n

The neighborhood boys are there playing baseball until dark,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Long after the others had left I hit my six balls then gave chase,<\/span><\/p>\n

If I hit one far I could hear the crowds roar as I touched each base,<\/span><\/p>\n

I was famous then palling around with Mantle and Maris in my head,<\/span><\/p>\n

Whitey Ford would pitch and throw his curve ball that I so dread,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the distance I hear a melody played, it’s “Pop Goes the Weasel,”<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ll buy ice cream for everyone but first help me pick off these teasel,<\/span><\/p>\n

Those sticky plants are stuck to me from mowing a neighbor’s yard,<\/span><\/p>\n

To see a 12 year old asking to mow their yard caught most off guard,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the setting sun reduced playing time we would play kick the can,<\/span><\/p>\n

Wholesome fun with the neighborhood would affect me as a man,<\/span><\/p>\n

We’d watch TV in the living room floor to feel the coolers cool air,<\/span><\/p>\n

Evaporative coolers worked so good on hot summers back there,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nine little brothers and sisters would gather round and wrestle me,<\/span><\/p>\n

Our family bond was tighter than most families and always will be,<\/span><\/p>\n

At age twelve I told my mother I wanted to be married happily,<\/span><\/p>\n

Told I was too young to want such thing and to think of a degree,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When I was but twelve I dreamed of a little girl I needed to save,<\/span><\/p>\n

So beautiful she was but when boys were mean I had to be brave,<\/span><\/p>\n

All the boys will want you but you must find a way to wait for me,<\/span><\/p>\n

As a boy I regularly saw into the future so often it was true mystery,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I was a big boy but still a kid when the letter came taking me away,<\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t take me, I beg, I don’t want to kill please allow me to stay,<\/span><\/p>\n

When I had to go I took in one last breath of the fresh Texas air,<\/span><\/p>\n

Drafted by the Navy so I thought I didn’t have to go over there,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Less than a year there’s bullets all around, Patti! How I love you so,<\/span><\/p>\n

Hesitated for a moment, there’s dead men all around everywhere I go,<\/span><\/p>\n

As I sat in deep reflection i looked up into a mirror startled by what I see,<\/span><\/p>\n

The youth of my existence died that day in a day of death and tragedy,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the flash of a barrel and a trigger pulled death became the goal,<\/span><\/p>\n

I look back on that day when what little boy remained fate stole,<\/span><\/p>\n

Never again will I have the childlike innocence I had as a young man,<\/span><\/p>\n

Memories I’ll hold dear and feel invigorated holding your little hand,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How I longed for my backyard when the fray began to surround me,<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet tragedy struck once again as I realized I’d never play again so free,<\/span><\/p>\n

Tragedy struck and the events brought my honorable discharge to me,<\/span><\/p>\n

Arriving home my first duty was to depart that yard and move my family,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I was a broken man upon my return after three months hospital stay,<\/span><\/p>\n

It broke my heart but I went out with little car in hand as a boy to play,<\/span><\/p>\n

Tearfully I scrapped a road in the same place my daddy had built for me,<\/span><\/p>\n

Then I gathered what belongings remained and I sadly moved my family.<\/span><\/p>\n

The end, by Pat.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was a dream of wonder, such as when I was a young boy, Through the air I flew in search of a magic moment of joy, My red cape blowing in the wind creating a turbulence tail, I was Superman strong because I was a super hero of tale,   Age eight is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-uncategorized","czr-hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poemsforpatti.com\/love\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poemsforpatti.com\/love\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poemsforpatti.com\/love\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poemsforpatti.com\/love\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poemsforpatti.com\/love\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=978"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.poemsforpatti.com\/love\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":979,"href":"https:\/\/www.poemsforpatti.com\/love\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978\/revisions\/979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poemsforpatti.com\/love\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poemsforpatti.com\/love\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poemsforpatti.com\/love\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}