Poetry Corner: Spikey Balls
Howdy, y’all, and a big ol’ tip o’ the Monday hat to ya!
Hey, around these parts Spring has pretty much sprung out all over, so to help celebrate that blessed event, I thought I’d share a bit of poetry I’ve had brewin’ for awhile now. It was sorta inspired by this photo of the seed pods from a sycamore tree in a local park. It happened to spark some great memories of summers as a child long ago, and, well, tell me what you think:
Spikey Balls
Memories of my childhood in a less-than-wealthy place;
Simple joys and happiness, and sunshine on my face.
Jumping into piles of leaves, exploring secret woods,
Searching creeks for giant frogs (I’d catch ‘em if I could!)
Together with my faithful friend, ol’ General Joe McLong,
(He was a weiner dog, you know) my bond with him was strong.
The two of us could romp and play with free and wild abandon,
Bare-footing it through grassy knolls with nothing sharp to land on.
Except -
There was this one big sycamore, with leaves of yellow-green,
I’d climb it to the highest heights to see what could be seen.
All summer long its branches filled with green and patient fruit,
No problem while still up there, but when fallen, more acute.
Over time, though, they transmogrified into these spiky balls
And then fell in such great numbers it resembled Nightmare Falls.
They laid in wait to prick my toes once fallen to the ground,
Oh, how I hated spiky balls wherever they were found!
Still, to this day I find myself remembering those times,
Of spiky balls and General Joe and silly little rhymes!
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Hey, I’d appreciate it if you’d tell me what you think! Just leave a comment in the box down there, won’t you? I’d kinda like to try this a little more often, so you never know, y’know?
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25 responses so far
Middle Zone Musings is a comfortable place to stop, have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. I don't ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Have a seat, take a load off, and relax...
Don’t quit yer day blog just yet, but I did enjoy it!
Mike
Those spikey balls are no fun at all. LOL I loved the poem though. A lot of us have memories and sometimes a poem fits right into someones life. Keep up the great work, and I look forward to your next poem. This blog is a blast, and I owe it all to you. Have a great weekend!
@Mike – Wow, managed to get you out of retirement just to comment here!
Hey, I’d love to take your advice, but my day job sorta kicked me out a while back. Now all I gotta do is make this sort of thing pay big bucks and I’m in like Flint!
@Paula Jo – Hey, a tip o’ the hat to ya, Paula! Glad you liked it. Hopefully didn’t bring up too many painful memories, though!
I always wondered what the tree was that made those balls! I used to use them as weapons. My brothers can attest to this. Now I know what to shout as I hurdle them at friends. Thanks!
Well, I for one respect any poem that works in the word “transmogrified”!
But, seriously, good work. Most poets I know want to stray from using rhyme in their works, but I find it a classically effective technique.
Keep it up!
-Ern
Robert,
Long time since I’ve commented here!
Ah, the memories of childhood! No matter what happens in adult life, childhood is full of innocence, and for most of us (at least those whose childhood memories are positive) these memories are treasure like nothing else.
@Dan – Hey, glad I could help there, Bubba!
@Ernie – Yep; I thought that was a particularly inspired line myself, Ernie! A tip o’ the hat for the kind words!
@Andrew – Hey, welcome back to the Middle Zone, Andrew! Are you back Down Under again, or off on yet another adventure?
Robert, tis is wonderful proof that your storytelling abilities are sharp in any genre. I loved it! I was fondly reminded of those wonderful days of childhood and it also brought to mind the melodic stories that captured my reader’s heart. I hope you will do more poetry!
@Karen – Thanks for your kind words, Karen. I wish I could be more inspired, more often; it’s always been tough for me to do poetry. But when I am inspired…
Hey Robert I loved the poem. Where are you. I thought I would jump in and get a smile on my face after working in the yard. So I just read the poem again. Hope to see you soon with another poem or whatever you decide to write about. It’s always a pleasure coming here and I’ll be back.
@Paula Jo – Hey, I’m still around, albeit a bit below the radar. Thanks for the comments, and for missin’ me! I’ll be back soon, I promise!
Wow, that picture brought back a lot of memories. I used to see those all the time as a kid but when I was a teenager my family and I moved to Utah. Sycamores don’t even exist here. Thanks for the great post and poetry, but thank you even more for the picture!
I think that it would be so wonderful to be able to live in the moment like I did as a child. Reading this poetry and writing some of my own helps to do that!
@Chuck – So sorry you don’t have sycamores there in Utah, Chuck. They’re magnificent trees! But you DO have cottonwoods, and they’re great for climbing, too.
@Flair – I understand what you mean, and I miss that too. Growing up is sometimes a great burden, ain’t it?
Robert –
I laughed all through this poem. You really are a very funny boy.
Reading it aloud, I let the rhythm flow as it gave me so much joy.
Now, you have been chosen as my wonderful poetry knight,
Because you combine humor and rhyme that gives me delight:~)
@Sara – Very clever, Sara! I knew you’d enjoy it.
A tip o’ the hat to ya!
How on Earth did you get “transmogrified” in to a poem?! (I had to google the word to see what it meant). We never had giant frogs in England, but we had plenty of newts, the fish in our small pond in the yard couldn’t swim for the number of newts we brought back from the surrounding streams
You a writer? I knew that before you did. The clue was: you were such a chatterbox at age 4.
@YSM – Who, me? You can’t prove it!
LOL, very funny i enjoyed reading this poem, Robert.
You sure do write beautiful poetry. Don’t let anyone try and convince you otherwise.