That child wandered into the woods… again…
Over the stone wall, over this seasons’
Pile of rotting leaves. Rain lurks about,
An idle mist, an idle threat; not falling. Not yet.
Does he have his companion?
The dog who shakes his collar rattling
Rabies and name-tags as if to ask
Why they stop, home nowhere near.
He’ll nip my boy’s heels; a slobbery pant
Says there is no happiness but to be with him.
Maybe they will make a friend — real or imagined —
Someone who can know the boy from the inside out.
I see him bend at the stream, hands cupped
He sips fresh water to drink, the tonic,
Of all brave adventurers who came before,
Discovered every tree, fern, thistle and weed
As if for the first time, every time.
Never lost, this child… off in woods
Lovely, dark, and deep,
Still miles to go before sleep.
Originally posted at SailorPoet, this poem has been revisited and revised as I gather poems from the time of that blog to assemble into a book (or two or three… there were a lot of poems over there) for publication… somewhere.
Stephen began writing poetry as a teenager in New Hampshire and kept at it throughout a 27 year career in the Navy. During that time he found homes for poems in Scholastic, Powhatan Review, Skipping Stones, Portfolio, and the Virginia Pilot as well as having a collaborative poem shared in Christine Ray’s brilliant Myths of Girlhood. For a year he actively blogged as Sailor Poet and co-founded the Go Dog Go Cafe. Following his retirement from active duty, he has begin pursuing a writing career in earnest, has resumed blogging at fullbeardlit.org and is now the managing editor at the Go Dog Go Cafe.
(C) 2020 Stephen Fuller
Really enjoyed this one.
This stanza in particular
He’ll nip my boy’s heels; his slobbery pant
Says there is no happiness but to be with him.
Maybe they will make a friend, real or imaginary,
Someone who can know the boy from the inside out.
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Thank you so much Ian; i enjoyed writing these lines and as I reread them now see a few tweaks I would like to make… and I am really grateful for your feedbakc
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I enjoyed this intriguing piece, Stephen. I especially liked the last stanza and wonder what is in store for the child.
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Well… I am reworking another older piece that would be years before this one… perhaps I can find another that is what comes next…
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“The wondrous world of childhood
When fantasy was where you stood “
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Reminds me of the opening poem of Wim Wenders brilliant movie Wings of Desire
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Oh sorry Steve, I don’t know that one…..I’m not much of a movie watcher….
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http://www.reverse-angle.com/deutsch/filme/katalog/timeline/ww-1/wingsofdesire/wod-song-of-childhood.htm
Wonderful poem by this years Nobel laureate
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Thanks Stephen….now I see what you mean…. and I copied and pasted into my poetry notebook file…. I love the repetition in the poem…… here it works well……. I’ve done that in a few poems…. a good way to create an impact…
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Agreed.
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