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Returning To The Playground
by
DATo

I see now dimly through my tears
Through eyes which have known many years
The playground of a distant day
Where once I frolicked in my play
With Tom and Frankie, Megan, Sue
Squeaking swing chains - skies of blue.

Oh, did we ever say goodbye,
One to another, long ago?
I would have done had I more sense
How useless now - this recompense!
To distant regions have they flown
The dearest friends I’ve ever known.

And there, I think, the tree I see
Where Annie’s name was carved by me
With a pocket knife - my childhood prize
Anne Hilbert’s name - immortalized.
I touch the gnarled name upon the tree.
Annie, do you remember me?

Behind the playground in the wood I see
The place where the policeman yelled at me.
I had given my folks a terrible fright
I had been gone most half the night
I had buried Sparkey, who was killed by a car
He then carried me home as I cried in his arms.

How strange the feeling which now attends me
As I open my eyes in the distance I clearly see
A beagle darting from the wood baying
And behind him runs Annie, Oh, what’s that she’s saying?
And here come Tommy and Frankie too
And behind them is Megan skipping with Sue.

The struggle is over. He’s at peace now.
Does he have family? Who shall we call?

No one, he has outlived them all.
He looks so peaceful in this, his demise.

Yes ... curious, the light which shines in his eyes.

I love this! This is so sweet and poignant.

I was about to ask if this was about you, then I remembered the ending, lol. I like the flow, the even-ness of the lines and the rhyming scheme. I think the story is really cool, and how we see how old the narrator is in the very beginning. I'm glad it has a happy ending.

Many thanks aparsons. I'm glad you liked it. It seems that "modern" poetry, much like modern art tries its best to be enigmatic and for the life of me I can seldom understand what the poet is trying to say. The poetry I have best loved has been poetry which has something to say - clearly and lyrically - in the tradition with which I was taught. (To assuage your curiosity: yes, parts of the story are true.)

Thanks for your response!

Great poem DATo.

Thank you Gannon! It is SO good to see you in the forum once again. The place wasn't the same without you.

Such a beautiful piece. There's no denying the story, but how it felt like I was running along side them is unreal. Great work!

PS: New to the community, so hello to all.

Greetings @VSandoval01

Glad you liked the poem and welcome to the forums!

Beautiful! I absolutely loved it!

LivreAmour217 wrote:Beautiful! I absolutely loved it!

Thank you so much @LivreAmour217. Your opinion means a lot to me. [:- )

DATo wrote: Thank you so much @LivreAmour217. Your opinion means a lot to me. [:- )

Aww, Thanks!!!

Again, this poem has good flow and the words paint the images clearly. I like the rhyme scheme you used. I also like that your poems tell stories.

I really enjoyed this poem. The rhyme scheme was simple but riveting. I specially enjoyed the end - his peaceful end.

Lovely poem. I agree with you, the best poems, in my opinion, are still the ones that have meter and rhyme. Loved the end too.

RachelEmmanuel wrote: ↑14 Jul 2020, 17:47 Lovely poem. I agree with you, the best poems, in my opinion, are still the ones that have meter and rhyme. Loved the end too.

Glad you liked it Rachel! Thanks for your comment.

So moving! I loved the ending. It reminded me of the ending of Titanic. We have that hope of being reunited with our loved ones.