THE GOOD

The thing about that summer

was the long walks along the

isolated country roads of Wisconsin.

The everything green tinged with blue…  

Pristine barns decorated the countryside

and dairy herds colored the air.

Tinny rock and roll poured from the

transistor radio in my shirt pocket, and

painted my bones with permanent ink.

An old bridge crossed a deep stream

shaded by maples and oaks.

We lingered there while brown

trout whoshed their tails between

dapples in the calm water,

waiting for another mayfly.

And that’s what I remember

even more than the desire

you lit in my furnace and still

burns through the rest

of everything I ever did.

When I look around for

what that means,

hear the people created there

speak to me, hear them cry,

watch them fall and rise again...

My people, who paint with words,

and effortless movement of dance,

who love from their skin down to the

splitting of soul and spirit,

I want to return there,

and stay to the end.

Reviews

[LisaCarol]

Vol - I have never been to Wisconsin, but the imagery in this poem made me feel as if I were there. I remember transistor radios as well. How simple life seemed in those days with only a few choices of what stations we could listen to. Now, we are bombarded with too many choices. As you’ve said before . . . The Yin and Yang of life. This was another, very good write.

[Dylan Macadham]

Ah yes, the burning memories of youth, the memories that last :)

[Vol]

Dylan,
I remember reading once that your music between 16 and 23 will be be your music for life...
Vol

[Dylan Macadham]

Hi Vol ...funny, my life's music is pre-teen :)

[Vol]

Bubblegum rock?

[Dylan Macadham]

Haha, Answering that'd give away my age :)

[Vol]

The Archies... Tommy Roe and the Romans, The Brady Bunch... the list is endless

[Desert Knave]

Very pretty. My childhood's favorite vacations were summers in southern Illinois and the imagery here reminds me of then. ~Jim

[Gee]

So descriptive and a joy to read Vol.
I still put the radio on when the weather is okay enough to sit outside preferring to listen rather than watch sport if a decent commentator is at the game.
Hope you are well. Good morning

[Vol]

Gee,
Must have been a very early morning for you, 12 hours ago CST would have been 1:15... I was just turning off the lights... Thank you, The easiest things for me to write about are those memories burned into my memory like a branded calf. Good afternoon!
Vol

[Gee]

Hi Vol, would have been between 06:00 and 06:30, just before getting ready for a day out on a construction site.

[Vol]

I should have known... You are in GB!

[Red Brick Keshner]

As do I! Had a blue Tandy radio with dial tuning and off/on + volume dial. It ran on double A’s … I could imagine the plains as I have never been there. With this poem I feel like I’ve been.

[Vol]

Red,
Why, Thank you, sir. Wisconsin is beautiful between mid Ma and mid September, unless you lopve snow and below 0 temps... But the bars are the best America has to offer.

[Poetic Beauty]

This is a beautiful scene you paint of tress full of life and life being lived with energy and love.

[Vol]

It was the summer of love, for real...1969

[Poetic Beauty]

That is awesome. 10 years before I was born. Sounds like it was an amazing adventure

[Vol]

It was a sweet time, indeed! PB...Young love lasts forever.

[Poetic Beauty]

Maybe…
I have had profound loves since so those are the one the stay with me. Each person those has had an impact on me in lesson or in blessing.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Every poem you write, peels back another layer of excellence that is the make-up of who you are as a poet. With every poem, it's personified, and I truly enjoy discovering you!

[Vol]

Well, Kelly,
You think my poems are pretty......
It is always a delight when you show up, Kelly...
Vol

[Vol]

And may I also say, It is nice to be discovered by one such as you...
Vol

[Kelly Scheppers]

...thank you, Vol!

[Lorry]

Aah, a transistor radio in your pocket brings back memories.
We used to call them trannies, but that kinda talk will get you cancelled these days!
You have definitely succeeded Sir in creating what your title says with your words. I only hope this isn't part one of a trilogy, no matter how great it would be to read what you think of both the bad and ugly! 😃
And btw, even a troglodyte like me has an app on my phone where I can listen to radio stations anywhere in the world.
I'm currently on Jamaican radio, with over a hundred stations from thar one country alone! They make our dj's sound so uptight and speeded up. Nothing is rushed in Jamaica man!
I want to live out my last years there, but if I do I won't mention the trannies!
😃

[Vol]

Lorry,
A good and noble dream, sir, noble indeed.
Vol