Shadows of Childhood Summers

Cherry

By a102866

Mon, 23 Feb 2015
  • 1267 reads
6 comments
 

End of May
school days folded
into days of leisure
absent the wine & song
authoritarian parents
providing few entertainments
but shackling with restraints
commandeered four siblings
piled them into a crowded sedan
without books, games
to amuse, divert restless minds
then off on the annual trek
not to Disney World
or to Camp Wala Wala
to grandmother's house
we always went
Around the bend
curve after curve
a mountain perch
with sun-filled memories
peering back through the lens
carefree moments magnified
loitering in four-walled house
a transplant propped up on stilts
city slickers sheltered from nature
no hiking experience, hunting trophies
boredom in a bottle with only
a TV to stifle the melancholy
but with grandfather's stern hands
on the controls
old westerns, news, detective re-runs
no nature hikes
only back yard forays
to the homes of aunts, uncles
gratuitous vagabonds
bearing our manifests
all to ready to share in the
proceeds of nature's bounty
June apples ripened on trees
a soft, mellow, pungent flesh
two bites of the mush,
not pleasing to the palate,
then chucked to the ground
blackberry vines in the thickets
rimming grandmother's house
shadowed by rattle snakes, moccasins
timidly treading through weeds
the sweet berries to pare
the pin pricks bearing
stained hands baring
trite dalliances with nature
only momentary blips
from the sparse itineraries
grainy negatives still exposed
when watching Nature shows
or culling fruits at the grocery
a bright flicker that quickly fades
overshadowed by the concrete, steel
barriers of city life

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Comments

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

A back yard can be full of adventures, a lovely dreamy mix of nature and urban living.  Can't wait for the end of May, will it ever come?

Submitted by a102866 on

LOL, Phillip. I am ready to thaw out as well. When you are not an avid hiker, then you stick to the friendly confines of the back yard! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on the subject. Oh, since my cloistered early days, I have leapt out of the shadows into a world of adventure. I have traveled the world. I have hiked, snorkeled, and visited countless museums. I guess I have made ammends for my sheltered childhood.

Submitted by Bee on

I liked the child views and opinions at an age where adventure can be made in the smallest confines. I remember that kind of old TV atmosphere and then sucking in the breath of outside to escape possible boredom when visiting grandparents as a holiday. I also liked how it was Grandmother's house, even though Grandpa was there controlling the telly. 

Enjoyed.

Bee

Submitted by a102866 on

Thanks Bee for stopping by and sharing your past experiences. It is comforting to know that your memories are similar. Grandmother was always the dominant figure. We ventured outside to relieve the boredom, even though we were not the outdoorsmen that our cousins were. It is fitting that the most endearing experiences were outside, even though we were not savvy explorers. Thanks for your insightful comments.

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Seems to me on reading this that there is a strange mix of rather happy memories mixed with the frustrations – 'a mountain perch with sun-filled memories peering back through the lens
carefree moments magnified', I suppose as we get older we maybe can see that mixture, and maybe the fact we weren't spoonfed with thrills, but had to learn to look for enjoyment in the small things? Rhiannon

 

Submitted by a102866 on

Thanks for your close reading, Rhiannon. I think that the carefree moments that were sometimes torturous and boring as a child are indeed longed for moments to us as we grow older. I think your analysis was spot on!