Thursday, October 26, 2023

 

Penny

We laid a penny

On the track

 

Standing with my

Brother Wayne

Little boys as close

As we dared

 

A steam locomotive

With a line of cars

Filled with old growth logs

Headed from the woods

Up east to the mill

 

We would run to

See it pass

And standing close

Feel the breeze of

The speeding train

 

Then look for our penny

Now shiny and flat

As a pancake

We would feel

Its smooth surface

With our thumb

Put it in our pocket

And soon transfer it

To that special place

Where we kept our treasures

 

Ron Erickson

October 25, 2023

Friday, September 15, 2023

Disneyland

 

They were very large

They had gathered

From nearby enclaves

Where they feasted

On trans fat and

High fructose corn syrup

 

They were drawn

To a world of

Make believe

And illusion

Where, for a moment

 

They could imagine

They were someone else

And somewhere else

 

And not stuck in their

Sorry one bedroom

Apartment and stuck in

Their sorry dead end job

 

They ate all day.

They were happy when

They left Disneyland

But larger than when they

Arrived.

 

 

Gait

 

It was imperceptible

At first

 

The long stride

That covered ground

With an athleticism

That belied his age

Was inching ever

Shorter

 

Imperceptible

At first

 

Then noticeable

Only to him

A hint of the

Diminished stride

Of advanced years

 

He saw it in himself

And he began to see it

In his friends

 

From that moment

Of awareness

He focused on

Strength and stride

 

Vowed to

Pay closer

Attention

 

And not let

The old man in.