Muddy Boots

Marching into April, just

When bare began to appear

The way of woods, nature

Would start to stir the dead

From winter and youth

Would spring to life.

 

The days lengthened and

Shadows stretched a little lighter

Along the banks of a swelled creek,

Our mothers’ warnings to keep away

Lost in the yelps of sticks being launched

To find the mighty Mississippi --

 

The whack-a-moles of prodding dens

In hope of bringing to ground

A slumbering whistle pig or

That most mythical of beasts --

The Tyrannosaurus Rex of the subterranean --

The bad-assed badger.

 

And while I can’t say I’m any worse

For having failed that tender-foot test --

I still wonder what he might have made

Of the solitary boot I left

Half submerged in the sucking mud

The day we spooked a hornet queen.

 

To this day my greatest fear

Is not the naked brush of a pocket hole,   

Or losing my religion -- as much

As the sting of an angry woman --

And I’ve learned the subterfuge

Of love is to leave your muddy boots at the door.

Ken e Bujold  

Reviews

[Betty Hermelee]

I like the joy you portrayed for losing a boot in the mud, then returning home to the ire of your mom for not allowing them in the house… sort of typical wifey behavior….the greatest fear….i liked the setting, the beginnings of spring, longer days….” Shadows stretched a little lighter”…..the badger popped out of his hole…”along the banks of a swelled creek”…. Kids enjoying nature…..
Warmly
B.

[Lorry]

I remember the first time I tried to use "I forgot", to explain why I didn't stop at the toe curling command of my mum shrieking "STOPPPP!!!
And in all honesty, I should have learned never to do it again, but in my defence NONE of the woman Ive lived with have never learned either.... never to expect me to listen or do the right thing! 😊
At least women I've been in relationships haven't tried slapping my legs with a belt..... Well, most of them! 😊

[Ken e Bujold]

I'm a bit like Jack's A*s. Mulish, but serviceable. Willing to go just about anywhere, but not necessarily going to do what you want me to do once we're there. And while I don't bite, I have been known to throw a shoe every now and then :)

[Lorry]

I know, but who can afford to throw away good shoes in the current fiscal climate? 😊

[Chris Shaw]

Ah, the sting of an angry woman:) Boys and their adventures. Loved the descriptive journey you took me on Ken. The muddier the boots, the greater the fun:)

Chris

[FGFRANKLIN]

I love the way this played out and sort of twisted towards the end. I could've been a badger. "I should have been a pair of ragged claws..." I think I'm just a crusty old curmudgeon now. My wife says I'm "surly" but not menacing. To which I replied, I need coffee.

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks F. fun part of this is I really didn't have any idea of where I was headed with the ending until it popped into mind 10 seconds before jotted onto the page.

[FGFRANKLIN]

That's always the best, I like those moments of crystal spontaneity. I like when I'm inspired by a word or three just catching them on the fly too. It's fun which is why I guess I keep writing.

[W. Barrett Munn]

Wasps, hornets, women, all with the power to send men running by buzzing and shaking their tails.

Winston

[Ken e Bujold]

Pretty much sums it up