The Other Side Of The Clothesline
May 10th, 2005on the other side of the clothesline
beyond the backyard fence, that opens up into
the canyon below, we journeyed to worlds of
discovery in our youth, climbing trees and
playing soldiers in fox holes, and feeling
afraid of the distances climbed, and realizing
just how far we walked, only to get home
past our suppertimes, getting into trouble, all
while remembering days of clean sheets flowing
in the gentle breeze of the afternoon sun…
sometimes, anticipating the wonderful melody of
an ice cream truck that delivered the best
rainbow swirled popsicles ever, and savoring
the cool flavors on a hot, sweltering day…
we’d take hikes and announce dares to walk
the full length of a pipe that spanned a canyon
only to traverse part way, and turn around
suddenly, realizing our limits…
we’d find rattlesnakes on trails and bullfrogs
and tadpoles in secluded streams by golf
courses…
building fortresses out of the shrubs around
us, and protecting and barricading ourselves
from other children, intent on capturing that
feeling that we owned something tangible…
beyond the clothesline and the clothes
blowing in the gentle breezes, there lay a
certain hope and adventure, that i haven’t
quite lost, but afraid of losing as one
traversing the path of adulthood, when
it simply isn’t considered wise to still
have the heart of a child…
but, i often imagine that we are simply
children who are older, for we still have
the need to hold someone’s hand while
we walk through life…
© 2005 Carlos Rull
