He was born July 19th
He grew up with the Mississippi in his backyard
He would play along its banks
Fishing
Swimming
Climbing in the willow trees
And paddling his pirogue
Beneath their sad shady branches
Beneath their sad shady branches
The river was home to him
The truest part of his childhood
A true river rat
To this bayou girl
We only met a few times briefly
Always reading each others' mind whenever speaking
Tall
Dark
And handsome
He had the look of his mother
The sense of humor of his father
He is the youngest of four children
And the only boy
A year away from thirty
This southern man
Would talk about how he traveled north on a whim
The time he spent in New York
And how beautiful the autumns were there
A former marine
He made his days in the Corp sound like time spent at summer camp
A true gentleman
He had a warmth that told me how he felt without words
He always opened doors
Said the right thing
And kept a respectable distance
He loves Jean Harlow
Antique furniture
War history
And a yellow Mercedes
He hopes to someday restore
A true dreamer
The dreams of learning the bass guitar
Sailing
and traveling to Europe
He is a strange combination of spontaneous ambition and abuse of senses
He says he is happy with his life
And with the way things are
Still
I believe he longs for something more
I believe he longs for something more
I hope he finds it
I hope he makes those dreams of his a reality
I hope he finds the someone or something someday
That inspires him
As much as he has inspired me
But more than anything
I hope he realizes
The river travels far
The river travels far
And that it can always be in his backyard
So that one day
His children can enjoy it as much as he has
A true West Bank Boy
To this East Bank Girl
We only crossed paths a few times briefly
Always enjoying each others' company whenever together
But whenever parting
Never saying goodbye
He was born July 19th
He grew up with the river in his backyard
He would play along its banks
Fishing
Swimming
Climbing in the willow trees
And paddling his pirogue
Beneath their sad shady branches
Written by G.,G.Rae
Copyright © 2004
All Rights Reserve
2 comments:
This is beautiful. If it's not too personal a question, who is this about?
No, it's not too personal a question...LOL...
The poem was written about a friend who (at the time) seemed a little lost... He made a disappointed comments that his life could be summed up on one sheet of paper. So I reflected on what I knew about him and did just that. ... =) ...
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