My Cart 
Login 

Previous

Gone Things
by
Ron Houchin


Next
 

My Silver Wind tricycle needs

the rain to remind its rusted wheels

of speed. Sitting since childhood

in the garage of memory,

it receives dust's thin epitaph

for having been on Earth.

 

Pencils from my jackknife pencil box

sleep their lead away in a plastic

communal grave somewhere

in the basement of forgotten 

supplies and window screens that long

for the rust wind brought them.

 

All those old Reds and White Sox 

ball caps, cotton and wool,

lying about the closet of things gone

keep trying, when I open

the door, to be more than the broken

duck bills they are; two cereal box rings,

 

a Roy Rogers saddle and a Captain

Midnight decoder have lost most

of their power to make me throw

my leg over a broom and ride off

into the sunset behind

the apartment building.

 

Copyright by Ron Houchin.
Used with the author's permission.

 


 

Ron Houchin (1947 - 2022) grew up in Huntington, West Virginia. He taught English for thirty years at Fairland High School in Ohio. Ron was the author of ten poetry collections, a short story collection, and a young adult novel. An enthusiastic traveler, Ron participated in readings and taught workshops all over the world. He was a lifelong film buff and a lover of nature.


Post New Comment:
Cindy:
sweetly wistful; I like it
Posted 05/11/2015 08:43 AM
erinsnana:
This brought me back to my little brother, the only boy with five sisters!
Posted 05/10/2015 12:37 PM
karenpaulholmes:
really nice nostalgic detail. Love the "garage of memory."
Posted 05/10/2015 10:25 AM
mimi:
fun poem...I remember a red tin barn I had and all the little animals that went with it. I wanted to be a farmer when I grew up!
Posted 05/10/2015 07:31 AM
KevinArnold:
Fun. I liked throw / my leg over a broom and ride off / into the sunset behind / the apartment building. //
Posted 05/09/2015 11:43 PM
phoswald:
This poem made me laugh out loud at similar but different childhood memories. I especially remember my stick horse I kept tied to a post on the front porch for occasional rides around the block.
Posted 05/09/2015 11:17 PM


Contents of this web site and all original text and images therein are copyright © by Your Daily Poem. All rights reserved.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Purchasing books through any poet's Amazon links helps to support Your Daily Poem.
The material on this site may not be copied, reproduced, downloaded, distributed, transmitted, stored, altered, adapted,
or otherwise used in any way without the express written permission of the owner.