Baseball was my passion that year when the world still seemed like a safe place to hang my hat. Dad was buying horses left and right while Mom shook her head and kept her silence knowing this was just another one of his wild-a*s hairs that seemed to get a little crazier each year. Credence Clearwater Revival was hot and singing songs about rain on the radio. School was out and I would go over to the creek to swim after I finished whatever chores Mom had me doing those days. Sometimes I would lie on the Devil's Bed rock next to the little falls where the biggest trout liked to feed and listen to the bugler from the Army burial detail playing taps for that days funeral. I wondered what it would feel like to be the son of the soldier getting buried up on the hill having to wear a suit and not cry. It always gave me a lump in my throat. My brother said it was a shame and Johnson should be shot instead. I always agreed. We all watched the nightly news together after supper and before Hogan's Heroes came on. The VC were handing it to our guys in a place called Hue and Mom cried when a South Vietnamese officer pulled out a pistol and BANG shot that dude in the head right there in front of god, me, Mom and everybody. I went to bed that night and decided that I wasn't going to pray any more. We lost every game for the rest of the season and I didn't care. I've never forgiven that officer for shooting that guy dressed in black right in front of me, god, my Mom and everybody.
I appreciated the deep, sentiment here. Prose/narrative poems have always had a soft spot with me, and here you ran right into mine. My only suggestion, with this type of poetry, is try and format the piece as close to the author's natural speech pattern as possible, meaning, line breaks must be spot on, or when that doesn't occur don't be afraid to use commas, or semi colons, as long, as it feels natural. I found that for the most part, you accomplished this. Very hard to do, unless you have a proven formula that always works. A poet here, wk.kortas, you might be familiar with, does this with perfect efficiency.... Me? not so much. I just keep working the structure until it feels just like my voice, yet at the same time, holds true to its poetic/ DNA...
A moving piece, Rick
Posted 10 Years Ago
1 of 1 people found this review constructive.
10 Years Ago
thank you, diego. As always, I appreciate your close reads and comments.
Rick
I appreciated the deep, sentiment here. Prose/narrative poems have always had a soft spot with me, and here you ran right into mine. My only suggestion, with this type of poetry, is try and format the piece as close to the author's natural speech pattern as possible, meaning, line breaks must be spot on, or when that doesn't occur don't be afraid to use commas, or semi colons, as long, as it feels natural. I found that for the most part, you accomplished this. Very hard to do, unless you have a proven formula that always works. A poet here, wk.kortas, you might be familiar with, does this with perfect efficiency.... Me? not so much. I just keep working the structure until it feels just like my voice, yet at the same time, holds true to its poetic/ DNA...
A moving piece, Rick
Posted 10 Years Ago
1 of 1 people found this review constructive.
10 Years Ago
thank you, diego. As always, I appreciate your close reads and comments.
Rick
Hi, I am an archaeologist by profession, a lover of books, and a father of an awesome son. Stop by and say hello. I look forward to reading your words. All comments and suggestions on my works are mos.. more..