BOB AND BERYL : TERCET
Introduction:
This is my second tercet poem. My first was
HUGHY'S LOOF TOOF which I published two years
ago, April 17, 2013.
In this poem I experimented with a much
different rhythm (10, 8, 6 syllables in each triplet/
stanza as opposed to 13, 13, 13). I have found this
form effective for narrative poems.
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BOB AND BERYL : TERCET
Dedicated to Robb Tedford
Bob and Beryl came for dinner tonight.
They are some of our good neighbors;
We simply never fight.
They are not really partial towards Dale,
The most unobliging neighbor;
(Wouldn't take in our mail).
We can see their house looking out the back,
Soon to be hidden by cedars,
Behind my writing shack.
We've been good friends for over twenty years.
We've all had our ups and our downs;
We have shared joy and tears.
They weren't living here when we first arrived
But came almost two years later
And our friendship survived.
We did not meet them in the beginning.
It must have been about six months
When Beryl was grinning
At me from behind their broken down fence.
I quickly recognized her face
Without further suspense.
She'd been a student in my P.E. class,
One of the energetic types,
A good, well behaved lass.
Shyly she introduced herself to me.
I recalled her brother, Derryl.
She said, "Hi Ms. Runschke."
Within two years they had twins and a son
Whose names all began with a K,
Full of beans, made her run.
They tried everything that boys will try.
When they jumped from high off their roof,
I was sure they would die.
When they suddenly took up skateboarding
Bob built them a ramp and half pipe;
They got to do their thing.
The younger twin once threw eggs at our house.
Bob sent him here to clean the mess
With pail and hose to douse.
When old enough to be left on their own
We started candlelight dinners.
Thank goodness for the phone!
All three are now men; not one has a wife.
They are still having so much fun,
Spoiled rotten, what a life!
They attend wild parties out at "the pit."
You might call them drunken orgies;
Police check them quite a bit.
They bring home their girlfriends, animals too.
They all often bunk in at night;
The place looks like a zoo.
They do not offer much help with the chores.
Their loud music grates on my nerves
When they are all outdoors.
They use the hot tub out on the back deck,
So much giggling and high splashing,
Lots of noise. What the heck?
And that way their parents know where they are
And they are not out drag racing
In someone's stolen car.
When we were their age and married with kids,
Our parents knew not what we did.
If they'd known, God forbid!
I was mostly glad that they were neighbors.
Sometimes months passed between visits
But not long between favors.
They hope one day that the boys will all leave,
Perhaps complete a trade, buy homes,
Find jobs, give them reprieve.
Revisited July 23, 2022
{Belated birthday wishes to Robb (Bob) for July 19}
A/N The sequel to this "epic" tercet poem is in Part 6.
Please continue reading to learn what happens to the boys
when they mature into adulthood.
YOU ARE READING
BOB AND BERYL : TERCET
PoetryThis closed tercet poem is based on truth. It is an eye opener into the daily lives of a modern day family.
