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it seems like yesterday

by Kyle Anne Kish

lunch at the picnic table
in the yard.
fat tin kool-aid pitcher
drips moisture down
the sides as mom
pours and i take
my first sip.

grape, my favorite.
it gives me a purple
tongue and mustache,
wears off on the white
parts of my peanut
butter and jelly sandwich.

chips and pickle lazily
watch the sprinkler.

i’m too antsy to do more
than wipe my hands
on pants and shirt.

there’s a tree i want
to climb today. i want
to reach the uppermost
branches without calling
for mom’s help to get down.

dad’s car pulls in the driveway.
he’s home for lunch and i run
through the sprinkler to greet
him. even though i look like
a purple spritz of arms
and legs, he picks me up
hugs me and asks about
my day. i point out
the tree i’m going to climb.

then off i go, after giving
him a sticky purple kiss
that seems to match me
from head to toe, along
with the curls upon gooey
curls winding their waves
through my hair.

i start at the bottom branch
of the huge oak. one leg
after another knowingly
finds footing on branch
after branch. i’ve made
it to the uppermost branches
where the whole world
is stretched out like a
grassy carpet ... just
for me. i revel in my
accomplishment, until
i look down.

“mom,” i yell,
“mmmoooommm!”
mom walks like magic
out to the tree to talk
me back down.

05/19/2007

Author's Note: May '07 challenge - 30 Something's Forum ... reflections of past summers or a look ahead at summers to come.

Posted on 05/19/2007
Copyright © 2024 Kyle Anne Kish

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Genevieve Sturrock on 05/20/07 at 02:14 AM

wonderful. really like the purple thread throughout.

Posted by Joan Serratelli on 05/23/07 at 05:52 PM

Great poem; great memory described with excellent detail. I could see it in my mind's eye and it made me smile. The dialogue added alot to this piece.

Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 08/24/07 at 01:26 AM

Fun look at childhood! Nostalgic as well. Homey and warm.

Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 08/24/07 at 01:28 AM

I have suggested this poem for POTD. Haven't seen anything much of reminiscing lately for POTD. This is a charming one for all to read.

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