Imaginary Garden With Real Toads--d'Verse Poets Pub
Dunno what the hell happened
to ol' Duke
who was the swarthiest of our little band
of outsiders
with hair blacker than used motor oil
in that whitebread town
who would sit behind the girls
at the movie show
and chant just beneath his breath: piece o' butt...
piece o' butt...
Who one night when we sneaked onto the
grounds of the high school
with Molotov cocktails in hand
lit one and flung it
and the flaming projectile
bounced off the side of the brick building
and struck him in the back
and started his brand new jacket afire
and the rest of us cackled until we could
no longer catch our breath...
Who one night as I chauffeured us
aimlessly around town
in my cherry-red Ford that everybody recognized
we passed the movie theater
where we saw this big ugly brute
named "Moose" loitering outside--
with his finger excavating his nasal cavity
and leaned out his window and shouted
"Pick you nose and wipe it on you suit!"
and I sensed immediately that
somehow I would be the one to pay for that...
And so it was one night we were stopped
along a country road
chugging some beers
and who of all people came along
but Moose and company
and he grabbed me and growled:
YOU'RE the one who yelled
PICK YOU NOSE AND WIPE IT ON YOU SUIT
and I marveled at his exact recall of Duke's phraseology
all the while knowing it would do no good
to even try to explain
and getting shoved into that ditch
didn't really hurt, man,
no...
not like conjuring up
those beautiful images does now.
Oh Timo, the pathos in your poems speaks straight to my heart. (I'm not kidding. Truly, under the humor I recognize that same pain that those old memories hold for me. Likely for all of us this side of fifty.)You painted this so clearly I felt like I was there. Cant do it any better than that!
ReplyDeletesmiles....those were the days were they not...we sat around last night telling similar tales of days gone by...and there was a bit of sadness behind the laughter...
ReplyDeleteI had to smile at last, this is interesting and lovely. I like!!!! http://ogungbesan20.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteHaving recently attended a ten year reunion at the school where I work, I know it is sometimes better to let those wild teenage friends go - they do not always transform into adults you'd want to hang out with.
ReplyDeleteSHERRY: Thank you, kindred spirit.
ReplyDeleteBRIAN: Those were the days my friend...we thought they'd never end...
KERRY: I hear you--I went to a ten year reunion, and that was the only one...just wanted to remember those people as they were in the glory days, not by how fat they'd gotten over the years.
loads of fun with a twist of pathos.we can all connect with ur nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteand thank you for your very generous comments on my poem.
MICHAEL: Welcome, welcome...thanks for your comment!
ReplyDeleteABIN: You are quite welcome--for a dynamite poem, everyone, check out Abin's blog!
ReplyDeleteThis is great. Now you can find out by going to Facebook. Everybody's there. :-)
ReplyDelete"with his finger excavating his nasal cavity..." I love that line. You're a great storyteller. You really know how to bring a scene like this to life and draw the reader in. This reminds me of so many "Dukes" in my life that I wonder about... except I don't have a Facebook account and don't really want one... Great poem, as usual, as usual. Now I need to take your advice and check out Abin's blog.
ReplyDeleteHmmm ... were you actually there, or did you just read about it? ... But just for the record, I love your blog, Mr.T ... Meouw, scratch, purr ... c.
ReplyDeletethis past weekend my daughter was home for a college visit... and talk of her new boyfriend and her life there... took me back in time...where I met her father (my husband)... but the memories were not all happy ones that returned... so it is.
ReplyDeleteOh... I knew a few of those guys. You gave us a full flavor and feel. (He would have a lewd comment or two about my comment, too!)
ReplyDeleteTERESA: Yeah, all you have to do is sort through the thousands of people with the same name!
ReplyDeleteSERENA: Me no do Facebook either! Your comments are insightful, and much appreciated.
CAT: Thanks for stopping by. Every word of this poem happens to be true, as we lived it--without embellishment or exaggeration.
LAURA: Memories tend to take on a golden glow the farther back they come from...even the unpleasant ones.
KIM: I can think of a lewd comment about your comment too, but I would never make that comment, because I am a "suave and deboner guy."
Now, this would not be my kind of fun, but it makes me realize I was entirely too good during my high school years. Too boring and good. Maybe I'm not too old to get into some trouble, lol :)
ReplyDelete...and I am here to say the older I get, the more are those memories, the list of them grows by the month now--grin!
ReplyDeleteWell done, Sir
PEACE, to you and "Moose"!!!
Ah...memories, the good, the bad, and the dumb. :) I love your walk down memory lane. It conjured up some of my own.
ReplyDeletefun piece. Love the observation, really nailing the details, love the diction, really bringing us right there, speech and all. Fun read. Truly showing what experiences/memories can conjure up later on.
ReplyDeleteOMG just like going to high school all over again. I had a 55 blue and white ford with blue leather interior. Of course, I saw all that stuff you talked -- but I just cruised main and the hi-d-ho, and winked at guys at stop lights, picked up my friends and listened to am radio that listed who was dating whom ... in the "this song is dedicated to" portion of the evening program. Yeah..good times, different times!
ReplyDeleteI can see it transpire. Very vivid.
ReplyDeleteLORI: Thinking about you "getting wild" is part of what helps me to carry on...in spite of it all!
ReplyDeleteSTEVE: Ol' Moose never kept in touch...I wonder why.
SUSIE: They were truly the good, the bad, and the ugly--but let's not talk about my high school girlfriends!
FRED:Much appreciated, my man.
BEACHANNY: You were there, alright.
ARLENE: I remember it like it were yesterday. Ironically, though, I can't remember yesterday.
!! The "good ol' days" take on a kind of polish, don't they? ;)
ReplyDeleteMARGARET: Yes, and that's a lot of polish for a bunch of unpolished kids!
ReplyDelete