"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." ~George Bernard Shaw

"Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time." ~Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn


Thursday, September 09, 2010

Magpie 31...When I was small


When I was small

and not so tall

I loved to roam the house

Tip-toe silent as a mouse







Late night was the best

To explore rather than rest

I'd slowly enter each room

Peering into the dusky gloom







Hoping to see what I don't know

Fearing I'd see something glow

My mind full of gory ghostly tales

And Halloween witches with hairy veils







And then one night while being outside

I saw a shape and ran to hide

Watching beyond the french glass door

A ghost floating above the wooden floor







I dashed through the backyard

Scared to death and breathing hard

Ran back into the house

Not quiet as a mouse







Jumped into my parents bed

Screaming "She doesnt have a head"

Gently laughing my parents showed me why

There was hooded coat hanging up to dry







From then on I stayed in bed

No more sneaking at night, instead

I read.





An old photo of me with my mother circa 1943

49 comments:

  1. I love this!

    I liked how the aabb pattern accentuated the childhood experience and I loved that last stanza.

    Very nice job.

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  2. I just loved this! :o)

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  3. Haha, what a lovely tale! I love the rhyming structure you used especially because it just helped to accentuate the childhood innocence.

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  4. Kathe I just love this poem...it is full of wonder and beauty! I think it is one of my favorites of yours! Awesome Magpie!!
    :-)

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  5. Good one! I liked it much!

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  6. A novel interpretation of the picture, and well written.

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  7. I'm guessing it wasn't ghost stories you read! :)

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  8. Just perfect.. can share in a similar episode..very well done!

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  9. Such a fun read it was.. I remember when we were kids, only thing that used to be exciting and worth doing were the ones we were forbidden to do...and all of them were not neccessarily pleasent..

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  10. Bravo! Wonderful.

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  11. I was totally charmed by this. It bought to mind , as well, an odd memory from my childhood of nighttime, wallpaper, and ghostly light creating scary shapes.

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  12. nicely written!!

    great Magpie

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  13. Halloween witches with hairy veils
    i loved that image! and the voice of the child, the tiptoe of feet, were really there in the voice and the rhythm of the poem -
    nice magpie!

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  14. Very cute! And dead on for a little kid.

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  15. Excellent, I enjoyed this.

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  16. As I read on I could see you creeping around, so naughty, but glad it wasn't a 'real' ghost! But wait! You think reading is safe!!!

    Thanks for the visit and wise words.

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  17. Oh wow, I like this one. Great twist at the end when the ghost turned out to be just a coat hanging there.

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  18. I was running with you! Good piece!

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  19. completely awesome. i love to see something really original come from magpie rather than just describing the photo. love this!

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  20. I'm reminded of a similar event in my childhood when I got up at night and was scared witless by a coat hanging on the back of a chair!

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  21. Ah, I hope not for ever?
    children need adventures. Although adventures in books can be just as exciting.

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  22. Now that is a playful poem... Loved it. Bisous, Love and Light, Sender

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  23. I wonder how many children have had just such frightening experiences. You captured the child's voice very well.

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  24. Wonderful work! =)

    -Weasel

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  25. haha. this brought back memories...mine was a halloween mask my brother had hung on the dresser...and one more got me as well...did not help i had a cemetary in the back yard...nice mag!

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  26. That's a child's imagination for you! I can't remember how many times I saw ghouls in the night .. that ended up being shadows or other objects. Great poem!

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  27. How fun... great take on this magpie. How many times I did such as this!

    Thank you for stopping over at my place. Your input is greatly appreciated.

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  28. I giggled! It's a great Magpie. And I feel so so validated that someone else saw a headless vision as I did!

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  29. this was so wonderful...it brought me right back to my childhood!
    I too was a chickenhearted thrillseeker :)

    Rene

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  30. Hahahah.. Kids are such out if the box thinkers... This was such an enchanting nostalgic piece

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  31. nothing like scaring yourself to death as a kid...i remember doing that...bkm

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  32. Anonymous5:14 PM

    The more excited the child became, the longer the line.

    The excitement was well demonstrated. Boo

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  33. hahaha! i wondered what the child read?!

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  34. A lovely poem, the rhyming is superlative. A delightful romp through a child's ghostly adventure.

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  35. I love this! My fave so far....!

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  36. So much fun. Loved the pace. Really reinforced the steps of a child. Great magpie.

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  37. Clever, I saw everything but a ghost in that picture.

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  38. Childhood - everything is crisper, charming and innocent.

    Innocence is something really precious, only to be appreciated once lost.

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  39. Wonderful! I love the rhythm, the rhyme, and most of all the little girl (you)--I was with her the whole time. Thank you.

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  40. lovely. exactly the experience of childhood particularly the scary bits.

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  41. Sweet! Imagination is so much fun and thrills.

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  42. Oh, they put that coat there on purpose!

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  43. One of my favorites ....

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  44. Anonymous7:45 PM

    This is a charming poem. I have experienced such a thing myself. The photo of you as a little one is so precious.

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