Recollections of Peek Freans

They say I have her eyes, though 

I was born before she went blind, so 

how I am meant to read this 

is questionable. But 

what I remember is how 

impossible it was to evade her ears --

the way she perched, leaned in 

tune to the air, every little shift 

of restlessness caught 

before I could slip the cane’s crook 

as if she knew 

my thoughts, the urge to sneak 

another Peek Frean off 

the come-hither plate 

always to the right of that wary elbow.  

Now, should the painting appear too dark, 

unkind, it is 

just time’s relentless rub 

of memories … a child’s haste 

to fill his pockets … 

though they say I have her eyes, I can’t 

recall where I buried them. All I have

to remember of her is how much I wanted 

to heist a Peek Frean before 

getting away clean. 

Ken e Bujold

Reviews

[mattavelli]

Hello, Ken! :)
Thanks for sharing your memory. We’re you able to get in a sip of milk too?

[Neville]

recollections perfectly framed and poemed for the present and for posterity .. this is quite simply superb sir .. and thanks a bundle for leading me astray for a moment yet never lost .. you can smell them too can't you .. almost as memorable as the melt on ones tongue and the heavenly taste ... someone somewhere would be ever so proud to have these words writ ... Neville

[Betty Hermelee]

Good portray of a person who is blind ,but somehow you have her eyes (Hmmm)....which is a lovely thing to say....blind people have keen other senses.....touch, sound, speech, smell,etc and they use those amazingly well....my dad was blind the last 15 years of his life and did well up to the last 3 years...then it took too much out of him... Memories are to keep, especially in words.....well crafted Ken
Best, B

[Dave Brown]

sorry thing about the eyes, one more cruelty of old age, but typical of a young squirt trying to take advantage
I'd forgotten all about peek freans, can't even remember if they were worth trying to snitch

[W. Barrett Munn]

Clever move from eyes to ears. Why is it the specifics fade but the general tone remains?

Winston

[Ken e Bujold]

off hand i say because we really are poor (as a species) at deciding what junk collected through the years should be prioritized. if you like most people (myself included) i bet your memory banks are clogged with crap .., your prom date's dress color, first work phone number ... you get what i am at)

[Ken Simm.]

Beautiful nostalgia. We the readers can all fit our own memories into these words.

[Chris Shaw]

Nice nostalgic trip here Ken. Those biscuits are such a lure as a kid. I remember peek freaks. This reads grandmotherly to me. She didn’t miss much by the sound of things, even though she was blind. You remember that well, even if nothing else.

Chris

[Ken e Bujold]

a great aunt. lovely woman, though it seems all I am left with memory wise, is the PF's, which truth me told i still love :)

[Chris Shaw]

Got quite a history has peek freens. Started off in the 1800’s in London. I’ve always been a custard cream freak. Good for dunking they are:)