Poetry Book 3

i remember

I remember
Running on the tops of hay bales in the field
Round bundles of dead grass
Put end for end in a long line
And jumping
From one to the other
Laughing
Like I didn't have a worry in the world

I remember
Doing firewood as a kid
And the sound of the chainsaw
Made me shake
Because I thought about those sharp teeth
Biting my skin
Because its bite had to worse than its bark
And when it was off
I still didn't trust it
I was amazed
My dad could and would dare
To operate such a beast
And not be scared for his life

I remember
The day I thought my life was over
I wasn't allowed on the bus after school
Taken to a place in the city
Never went to the city much
Stuck in a room with a table and chairs
A boardroom
Endlessly it felt
Then the door opened
Say goodbye to your parents
We'll be leaving soon
I probably would have tore off my parents arms
If it kept me there
And it hurt when
They were forced to let go
Of me

I remember
When I got my first pig
A pet I saw
Not a source of income
Her name was little white
She was a big pink pig
With a sense of humor only matching mine
She would sneak up behind you
When you were in the pen
And lift you off your feet
Give you an attention getter
Then run away
Curly happy tail
Squealing like laughter
Having pranked you

I remember
Free fathers day fishing weekend
And all of the cool creeks and watering holes
We'd stop at along the forestry road
Close to home
We'd use pink and yellow wedding band lures
And a slimy worm
On a little sparkly red ice fishing pole
Because the kid one's looked dumb
And these ones were small enough for the kids
When one body of water yielded no fish
Into the truck
Drive to the next creek
Test it out again

I remember
Building the front deck of the house
Concrete pad
Pouring in the wet gray mud mixture
And using rubber boots
Linking arms
Stomp stomp stomp
In a circle
Stay close
Packing down the cement for the next layer
Of more sloppy gray muck
Only to dance again
Stepping of the rubber boots
Holding each other's arms
Packing it into place

I remember
The first time I was taught to weld
My dad said my grandpa was a pro
And he was
Dad set me up with scrap steel
The rod
And the awkward helmet that made me claustrophobic
Be careful
The sparks are going to feel like little mosquito bites
And they did feel like that

I remember
Small things about my past
Things that hold a strong emotion for me
Be it a good or bad one
But I can remember them
I can't really remember certain important things
Like what were my high-school classes
What company my dad worked for at what grade in school I was
Or what even happened three years ago today
But the small things
The emotional things
They come up from time to time
And I'll just let them say what they need to