Reply #20: My father.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

DREAMS OF BOYHOOD

I’d like to take that magic walk
Back along the Milky Way,
To taste once more the honeycomb
And re-live fond mem’ries of yesterday.

To walk the pungent railroad ties
And feel the hot tars tug on feet,
To plunge in the ol’ swimmin’ hole,
Or pluck the ripen’d berries sweet.

To savor again the ecstasy
Of a can of worms and willow pole,
Or the thrill of feeling the bobber sink
‘Neath the sunlit fishin’ hole.

To walk anew the secret pathway
And reclaim the sense of sheer delight,
Even pay the cost of eager folly
To endure the pesky insect bite.

For the relief of owing not a soul,
Freedom from all care and greed,
And chance to recapture youthful joy
Is truly one’s most urgent need!

Original poem by Clarence W. Hessler
© 2007 Steven A. Hessler
All Rights Reserved