A Pirate From The Past

torrential rain cascades on stone paving
crazy wild wetness spilling over gutters
creating lakes of puddled opportunity

downpour from grey mackintosh sky deluge of relentless winter water
brimful mind bursts its memory banks

i recall a blue plastic toy chest
a galleon of homemade happiness
containing a cutlass and black eye patch

a small boy afloat in soaked shorts
scraped knees, messing in the garden
sailing white crested waves of salty seas

Black Beard has grown tall with the years
has a son of his own who awaits play days
with the toy chest in the attic

Reviews

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

There was nothing more fun then those days of youth when we would pretend to be different things whether it be pirate, policeman or a super hero.
I can imagine the nostalgia a m om also goes through remember watching their child play with their imagination.

[Chris Shaw]

Those make believe games were such fun. Apart from memories of my boy playing pirates, I can remember the joy I got as well messing around in the wet stuff. The only drama they seem to get now is on their phones. What a pity. Thank you Dale for your thoughts. Most appreciated. All the best.

Chris

[Neville]

You just made both my eyes leak involuntarily happy nostalgic tears our Chris .. what beautiful ink you have shared here .. Neville

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Neville. I love my pirate so much. All six foot two of him and his little chip off the block. Can’t wait for our holiday at the end of the week. This is such a lovely memory of wetness :))

[Neville]

you can beat an egg .. but you just can't beat a spot of wetness can ya :)

[Patricia Wedel]

dearest Chris.... grey Mackintosh sky deluge of relentless winter water... Black Beard has a son of his own who awaits play days with his Toy Chest in the Attic. When my son was young and learned to read fluently, he read an antique poetry book of English literature that I found at a thrift store. and now he and Leilani are raising two girls... with the mystery of poetry... knowing that their Grandmother is a Pirate of hearts. truly, Pat

[Chris Shaw]

I love that you are a pirate of hearts Pat and how amazing your son was introduced to poetry at such a young age. Especially reading it from an antique poetry book. Thank you so much for your visit and sharing your family with me.

Chris

[gram linski]

loved the shared memory yet to come of father son, the finding of treasures in a box in the attic, enjoyed this immensely , Chris

[Chris Shaw]

Were you ever a pirate gram? Or maybe a cowboy or bandit:)) Pleased you enjoyed this little bit of nostalgia.

Chris

[Jennifer Patino]

"lakes of puddled opportunity" is a brilliant image :) I love this rainy day reverie. I'm definitely a fan of your writing. You pen nature so well, it's soul stirring.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you so much Jennifer. So pleased you enjoy my efforts. That means a lot. Appreciate your time.

Chris

[Eilis]

It’s hard not to see my own son in this too, Chris. What a lovely, vivid memory you paint here to swim alongside the lashing of a storm. I suppose watching our children grow and then leave and then have children of their own can bring both the joy and that occasional inner emotional storm when we are suddenly hit by a strong memory.

I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the now and the then. At times I felt like the water itself was acting like a vehicle into the past. A river of memory gliding us along.

We’ve had an awfully rainy winter here, so I can relate to the waterlogged feeling at the beginning of your poem. We had snow on Saturday and today it’s raining again and 70 degrees. Weird weather here. I know you’re dealing with some tough weather there. Hope all is well for you.

Loved this poem. A dear little escape into the kingdom of childhood.

[Chris Shaw]

Many thank yous for your detailed response Eilis, much appreciated. We are just bracing ourselves for another storm this weekend, hopefully not quite as damaging as the last one. It appears that you too are having weird weather. Pleased you enjoyed this read. Always good to see you on my page. All good wishes.

Chris

[Lorry]

Ah, those never ending cloudbursts can jolt the memories awake like a slap to the face Chris.
Your memory is so much sweeter of what i was just reminiscing about, my old primary school class that smelled of thirty damp and miserable kids who were allowed to walk to school in downpours, but not allowed out at playtime or lunchtime.... Which i called and still do call big playtime.
Ugh, andthe smell of wellies too 😀

[Chris Shaw]

How mean, no playtime. I can smell that damp musty wool from here Lorry. How weird, you are allowed to get wet walking to school, but not to go out and play in it. Hope all is well with you.

Chris

[Lorry]

As well as well can be, at silly o'clock in the morning, at silly degrees celcius. So about the same as ever 😀
Thanks for reminding me of smelly wellies, i had erased that part from memory 😀

[lakinbob]

My brother and I used to play like this. Mostly as soldiers crawling through the long grass in the fields that bounded our house. We used to pretend it was jungle, the magic broken when our younger sister used to come and see what we were doing and had that scornful look in her eyes which the female of the species is so very good at when observing the foolishness of men.

Thanks for the memory.

[Chris Shaw]

You made me smile with the memories of your sister abd brother. So pleased I took you on a nostalgia trip. Thank you for responding, most appreciated lakinbob.

Chris

[John the Baptist]

Sometimes everyday happenings can trigger memories, occasionally unpleasant ones. The opposite occurs in this offering, where a rainy day makes a mother recall a moment from her son's childhood. She recalls a day, a rainy day like this one, when he got soaked while playing the part of a pirate. "Black Beard," as she calls him, is now grown, with a son of his own, who enjoys the same childhood pleasures. Before our eyes, history continually repeats itself for us, if we are attentive enough to see it.

PS: The real Blackbeard, Captain Edward Teach, once lived in the same NC town as my ancestors. He was an unpleasant, sociopathic type, who first practiced piracy during Queen Anne's War and apparently couldn't give it up. I think having 14 wives might have had something to do with it.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you John for your review and for the additional information about Blackbeard. 14 wives though is probably enough to turn any man unpleasant. All that nagging :))

Chris

[John the Baptist]

Not sure if that # is actually verified. A lot of legends evolved around the man.

[barleygirl]

Love your pirate theme, even tho I never played pirates, so this is not my memory. What stands out to me is how I used to love going out to play on a rainy day & putting a leaf in a swollen creek & watching it float wildly along, running along the creek, trying not to lose sight of my little leaf boat. Your way of seeing the world & remembering life brings a plethora of treasures to the surface! (((HUGS)) Fondly, Margie

[Chris Shaw]

Love your memories of rainy days Margie. Your leaf story is the sort of thing I still do. You know that inner child just can't help but come out to play. Many thanks for your review.

Chris