The Last Summer of Willie Mays

The Last Summer of Willie Mays

 

It was the last summer of Willie Mays

of comic books and baseball cards,

of Little League Saturdays and Altar Boy Sundays

the last summer Bazooka Joe and the ice cream truck.

It was the last summer of Willie Mays,

the last summer of hairless chins and soft voices,

of endless games of stickball played in the schoolyard

the last summer of innocence and ignorance.

It was the last summer of Willie Mays,

of ignoring the girls who sat by the schoolyard fence

laughing and singing along with AM rock.

It was the last summer of Willie Mays,

the last summer of childhood

and we were too busy to know.

But the girls sitting by the fence knew as they laughed,

they were already on the Road to Shambala.

 

Reviews

[Rogue]

Like those before me here, that repeated line really gives one a feel and vision of the summer you describe.
Obviously the last days of a carefree time when responsibilities weren't so much and the wide world was still far beyond the neighborhood.
Great nostalgia in this, Steve. :)

[SteveB]

Thank you Rogue. I appreciate it.

[Pryde Foltz]

The return to innocence. I almost smell the sunshine. Fantastic write.

[SteveB]

Thank you Pryde. Coming from you I take that as high praise indeed. I truly appreciate it.

[Pete Langley]

Yes, before the onslaught of hormones, we never even contemplated adolescence, never mind adulthood!...presently, things have become more confused for kids...they are exposed to `growing up` far too soon. I enjoyed this. P.

[SteveB]

Thank yo very much Pete. We were blessed who had the opportunity to grow up in a simpler time. thank you for the read

[Sharon Kim]

Even though it's the end of childhood and innocence, I found myself smiling over those detailed memories.
Fantastic!

[SteveB]

Thank you so very much. I appreciate the kind words greatly.

[Clockwork]

I really like the refrain in this poem. It provides a real emotion for what the end of childhood feels like. It makes me think of what his last season playing ball must have been like before he hung it up. That is the feeling that I think the line leaves with the rest of the poem. Its sort of a sense of endings in motion if you will. Also, I think that your descriptions of things like "League Saturdays and Altar Boy Sundays/the last summer Bazooka Joe and the ice cream truck." are very honest and striking at the same time. They remind me of the stories my father told me about growing up in Philadelphia. I liked this piece, and it has a special place in my heart.

[SteveB]

Thank you so very much. I appreciate your kind words greatly.

[Clockwork]

You're welcome and thank you for sharing.

[Rita L. Sev]

I like your use of repetition, that line - It was the last summer of Willie Mays - punctuating each stage of leaving childhood behind. So often, we do something for the last time, and we don't even know it. Knowing would ruin the moment, I'm sure. I love the acknowledgement that the girls were already there, into the next phase - teaching middle school I can aver - it is like that. Excellent piece!

[SteveB]

Thank you very much Rita. This is one of my personal favorites. And how can I go wrong when I give a tip of the cap to Three Dog Night? As if further proof that I was of a "certain age" were necessary.

[Rita L. Sev]

:) Ha! What does it say that I got that reference right away? Coincidentally, I have a boy in my class who greets me with a non sequitur each day (he's bright and creative). This morning's greeting was simply "Willie Mays". I came home and read your title, a little freaked out!

[SteveB]

That child should get an A merely for repeating the Divine Praises and recognizing the greatest there ever was or ever will be. Or else his family got yesterday's NYT Book Review. And perhaps it shows that as you claim you also are of a "certain age". Those were good times to grow up.