What you carry

What do you take away from your childhood?

Kevin has

Spiky red hair

that sticks up from his head

like he stuck his finger in

a plug and got electrocuted.

Big and tall, all legs and elbows

acne pocked skin

jean shorts

white athletic socks

pulled up to his knees

a neon green Star Trek t-shirt

with the emblem on the front

Resistance Is Futile

in pixelated letters on the back.

His room is all old socks, sweat,

dirty laundry,

some food growing moldy,

under his bed.

Slumping down the hall,

his metal mouth flashing,

voice cracking,

yelling the Vulcan salute,

Live Long and Prosper.

Kevin and his friends

play video games,

their roaring cracking shrieks

float though out the house.

He wonders if he should start shaving

Kevin shovels Mrs. McHenry's

walkway

without being asked.

He finds a baby bird on the ground,

and cradles it in his hands.

He helps his little sister

sound out her words.

Kevin walks Suzanna home from school

everyday

so the bullies can't tease herl

He makes silly faces

at his baby brother

to make him stop crying

Kevin sits next to his Gran's

hospital bed

reading her his comic books

although she can't remember who he is

Kevin grows up and leaves things behind,

the spiky hair,

the acne

the braces

He's lost touch with old friends

though he still sometimes plays video games

Gone is the Star Trek t-shirt

the Vulcan salute has turned into

a handshake

his old room is now his mother's 

sewing room

But

the kindness,

the compassion

the empathy,

the patience,

Those things he carries

in the breast pocket of

his button down shirt.

Reviews

[Pete]

what a great, heartfelt write so glad i took the time "to boldly go where no man has gone before!" keep up the good work whilst i form a "v" for victory with my fingers as you gently remind that there is still hope in this world. bravo ... :)

[NormaZ]

Thanks Pete!

[poetgurl]

Awesome, love this. I enjoyed that last stanza.
What a fun write. enjoyable

[NormaZ]

Thanks Meg, it was fun to write.

[emmajoygreen]

Brilliant, heart-pulling truth! What a superb tale of how attitude can be misinterpreted, how sometimes people look at others and forget that they too were.. young. That Kevin is what a human being is, someone learning how.. .. ..

[NormaZ]

Yes, those growing up years, so many lessons. Thanks for your review!

[emmajoygreen]

Six siblings and me.. the youngest.. we exampled most of the shapes and attitudes of teenage years.. some pretty cheeky, some merely pretty!
Was an instance when our two brothers were heard to say something and daddy got to hear of it. Not knowing why, they were called into his study; he asked them to listen carefully. The listed every foul word/phrase going then they were told that if either one repeated any such language in the hearing of little mum, sisters or any other woman, they would be in BIGGGGGGG trouble! Thunderstruck they walked out of the room, shocked that their father should even know such words.
They didsn't tell us girls for years about that because they just rushed up to the room they shared and kept hidden for hours! Never forgotten, lesson learned!

Happy everything, dear friend and many thanks for each and every one of your words, they are so worth reading, more than often memorable. Hug.

[NormaZ]

Ha, ha, made me laugh! 😊

[emmajoygreen]

My one brother still alive, am the youngest of the lot.. is a teacheer of lads 15 and 16- some of whom know how to use language that doesn't even exist. Jack has to discipline them but has a couple of times told the tale I left for you to read. He told those classes - two different occasions, that daddy was mild mannered doctor who taught us by example, like our little mom and a few of the lads, taller than 6.1 brother thought it funny but then paused and said nobody cared what they said
Jack asked if that mattered or not and three of four said guess not but.. and it led to a minor debate. Sometimes things are taught outside of education! Take care,. keep smiling. Christmas hugs. :)

[Melinda McQueen]

How lovely is this write.
I liked the story you told.
An inside look at a he1art of gold.

[NormaZ]

Thanks for your review Melinda!

[Vol]

NormaZ,
As a teacher, I think I met many Kevins, and despite how the young are portrayed in the media, many Kevins belie their cynicism.
Vol

[Julian]

Oh my - this is breathtaking, heart and soul touching and for me ( at this moment) almost brings a tear...the amalgamation of so many memories of those we have known, or wish we had known, the beautiful juxtaposition of the things seen by one who looks at the outward appearance versus the unseen virtues.... btw- I am quite old, and it may be that I am overly prone to sentimentality, having so many decades to look over, but even to young whippersnappers in their 40s or 50s. this should be a moving and thought provoking piece. Well done.

[NormaZ]

Thanks Julian! A time of life that seems to last forever, but really goes by so fast.

[NormaZ]

Thanks for your review Ken. I thought up Kevin as a character in a short story I was writing. In the story he is just a pain in the neck to his two older girl cousins.

[Ken Simm.]

I know ,taught and was him. Except for the red hair and the last verse that would be too self agrandizing wouldn't it? Excellent poetry tribute to some one you obviously knew. or know.