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Open Poetry #9
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First Two Wheeler
| Open Poetry #9 |
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First Two Wheeler |
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Wilfred Yeats Member Elite
since 2000-08-04
Posts 2704Wilmington, Delaware 
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(This lacks some polish - and the transition from third to first person - is delibrate- but I like it as is.) On a two-wheeler borrowed Because he had the fire He learned to ride With fifteen-inch tires They didn't make training wheels then He'd had a trike Dad said he'd buy him his own He showed he could ride a bike To the store with shiny new models Knee-action, a horn button, the speels White-wall tires, chrome rims Twenty-seven inch wheels Only one problem On the pedals he could pound He was eight years old He could not touch the ground But oh it was beautiful And oh it was grand And it had to be his Best in all the land In no time at all he could Do swing up and overs Off to conquer new lands He was Tom Mix and Buck Rogers Pedaled fast round the block Stop graceful another thing Until he learned to brake Off with the same swing Skinned knees, Mom never saw Till the end of the day He was totally king Of all he surveyed Each day a new trip To the fountain he'd make To the river, the ball park To the park by the lake That was the year That his big sister died And the bike sat forgotten As he laid down and cried They buried her then In old Forest Lawn Next to the park lake She was simply 'gone' He got back on the bike Pedaled off to her grave He could conquer the universe But her he couldn't save As parents sometimes we wonder What a child does know We forget what we knew Through the years we did grow But it's all come back to me As I think of those years She was grown up and pretty And I'd choked back the tears Nine years later the strength That I'd shown back then I needed once more Cancer struck once again I supported my dad As we followed the casket Mom was inside Flowers in a basket My sister was twenty My mom fifty-six It's all done with mirrors I'd learned all the tricks |
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| © Copyright 2000 Wilfred Yeats - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Mark Bohannan Member Rara Avis
since 2000-06-21
Posts 7269In the winds of Cherokee song |
This was so sad and I was caught completely off guard half way down. You have penned a wonderful piece of sadness and I hope it is not a real life experience but something tells me it is. very beautiful though sad. |
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Wilfred Yeats Member Elite
since 2000-08-04
Posts 2704Wilmington, Delaware |
Yes - it is real - My sister was 12 years my senior - and died when I was 8 - the bike story equally true, as is supporting my dad in his grief when mom died whan I was 17. What is interesting is the recall 60 years later - that I got the bike the same year my sister died - and how I reacted to it. I guess this is what they call suppressed memories. Thanks Mark  |
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Jenn E Senior Member
since 2000-08-02
Posts 589Kelowna, BC, Canada |
You also caught me completley by surprise here. This was very sad...but at the same time filled me with hope as you got back on that bike and pedaled........and here you are 60 years later......and they are proud of all you have endured and are smiling I am sure. Hey? Do you still ride that bike? lol I am cursed with the humour at the end.... Smiles Jenn E |
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rosepetals25
since 2000-05-31
Posts 3076PA |
Wilfred Yeats, What a sad poem. I found my smiling at the mention of Buck Rogers (I've forgotten about that show..lol) and then misty eyed a few lines down. I'm so sorry for you loss. It is a beautiful poem. rp25 |
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Wilfred Yeats Member Elite
since 2000-08-04
Posts 2704Wilmington, Delaware |
Jenn E- /pip/Forum33/HTML/001254.html (To answer your question ) and don't feel cursed - I had to lighten up. ~S~ Dad died 6 years after mom. - I needed a sleeping pill for the only time in my life but that is another story. Thanks - I think they're proud. I've outlived them both now - maybe that's what they mean when they say 'only the good die young' Rosepetal- You remember Buck on TV (I do too) but when I was 8 - he was a serial after the saturday matinee at the movies It is all part of life -we're born - we marry, have kids, we die ~Sigh~ Thank you |
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Sunnyone Member Ascendant
since 2000-07-06
Posts 5334Staffordshire, England |
I just wanted to say that it must have been hard to write down your memories as you just did here......I admire you for the way you told your story, and for sharing it with all of us........it just makes us a closer family! Thank you......< !signature--> Today is a gift.... That is why they call it 'the Present'! [This message has been edited by Sunny1 (edited 09-01-2000).] |
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Honey Bunch Member
since 2000-08-08
Posts 99South Africa |
Wilfred, such sad words touched my heart but a well written poem as it travelled through emotional periods in your life. Thank you for sharing. |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
Hi Bill--so glad I found this memory of yours to read...I enjoyed seeing you in bike riding glee and understand the sorrow of your loss...and Buck Rogers and the Saturday Matinee..I remember well. |
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Wilfred Yeats Member Elite
since 2000-08-04
Posts 2704Wilmington, Delaware |
Sunny- I've replied in many posts - that My words go where I do not know as I begin. I began this as a simple recollection of my 1st big bike. but the number eight (years) caught hold of me and I remembered my sister - As I said - I cannot control where my words will go. Thank you Honey- If one doesn't feel - one shouldn't write -If one does feel - writing is an imperative - for the necessary catharsis. Thanks HB Martie- Being a child is not all fun and games - you reminded me of that - and so inspired this Special thanks to you |
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