Written in 2016; I set forth 1 January 2016 as the date of writing; published on 1 January 2019; republished on 10 April 2020

• FOUR FRIENDS FROM HIGH SCHOOL, a Poem by Alice B. Clagett

Dear Ones,

Here is a poem I wrote some years ago …

Image: “Surf at Dume Cove 1,” by Alice B. Clagett, 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0, from “Awakening with Planet Earth,” https://awakeningwithplanetearth.com .. 

. . . . .

FOUR FRIENDS FROM HIGH SCHOOL
A Poem by Alice B. Clagett
2016

This account is entirely fictional.

1.  Her dad owned all
   . . .of Northern Virginia
   . . .race horses
   . . .meadowland
   . . .down to the river

. . .His child
. . .first up
. . .teach asked
. . .first term
. . .What
. . .does your father do?

. . .Answers
. . .like ice
. . .like steel
. . .like winter sun
. . .spilled
. . .piled
. . .tumbled
. . .down the hall

. . .On a chill November day
. . .our grey haired
. . .spry eyed headmistress
. . .called us together
. . .and pronounced this
. . .doom:

. . .Our president
. . .was shot and killed today.

. . .I remember
. . .the stunned looks
. . .the sudden tears
. . .her similar
. . .expression

. . .. . . . .

2.  A down-to-earth laugh
. . .a penchant
. . .for science
. . .physical derring-do

. . .In senior year
. . .she planted a wild
. . .vegetable garden
. . .green. So green.
. . .hope filled twining
. . .near the brick building

. . .She married
. . .moved out West

. . .Retired
. . .left him for
. . .her personal trainer
. . .left him for
. . .her husband

. . .Now she’s leading
. . .oldster expeditions
. . .to the high mountains
. . .deep lakes
. . .swift running streams
. . .of that Fiery Land

Image: “Tree Trunk,” by Alice B. Clagett, 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0, from “Awakening with Planet Earth,” https://awakeningwithplanetearth.com .. 

. . . . . . . .

3.  Her dad owned a chain
. . .of senior care homes in
. . .our nation’s
. . .capital

. . .One day
. . .she didn’t come to class

. . .Whispers
. . .. . .like air
. . .. . .from an open window

. . .Hearts
. . .. . .caught tight
. . .. . .. . .caged
. . .. . .trembling

. . .Might it be me?
. . .Could it happen to me?

. . .Some months later
. . .she reappeared

. . .It wasn’t so bad, she said.
. . .He wasn’t there.
. . .It was quiet.
. . .It was nice.

. . .Then she popped up
. . .in San Francisco
. . .married to
. . .. . .a head monk
. . .two-year-old toting
. . .. . .eyes like blue oceans

. . .Looking deep into
. . .almost beyond you
. . .she’d say with a laugh:
. . .No! I’m no longer crazy.

. . .. . . . .

1.  Her mom
   . . .knew how to cook
   . . .artichokes

. . .Her dad was mostly
. . .elsewhere
. . .This was the only
. . .elsewhere dad
. . .I’d ever un-encountered

. . .After college
. . .so the story went
. . .she bared her breasts
. . .on film
. . .at Woodstock
. . .then

. . .She joined a cult
. . .that believed sex was evil
. . .changed her name
. . .became the head nun
. . .had her records expunged
. . .at our high school

. . .As it turned out
. . .her dad was prestigious
. . .He could do
. . .that kind of thing
. . .for his beautiful daughter

Image: “Surf at Dume Cove 2,” by Alice B. Clagett, 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0, from “Awakening with Planet Earth,” https://awakeningwithplanetearth.com .. 

. . . . .

In love, light and joy,
Alice B. Clagett
I Am of the Stars

This blog has been added here … Link: “Compendium: My Childhood and Family, and Later Years,” by Alice B. Clagett, compiled and published on 21 March 2020; republished on 29 March 2020 … https://wp.me/p2Rkym-haj ..

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Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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