The Journey Back
By mickleinapickle
- 6964 reads
I had to go back
there were ghosts to kill.
I remembered the main street
the bleak council houses
and downbeat people
in that grotty town.
Almost killed
on that road
siblings in tow
hurrying as usual
late for school again
crossing without looking...
Landrover screeching to a halt.
That irate red-faced man shouting
me rushing away with my ragged flock.
“Get stuffed you miserable bastard!” I yelled.
Everybody shouted and swore in those days.
I walked slowly to the house of my upbringing
in the middle of a rundown terraced row
same building except for the paint.
Bittersweet memories.
Six kids in two bedrooms
telling crazy stories all night.
How we howled with laughter.
Forever avoiding the Carter boys
the times when they finally caught me
when they beat me for being a smelly belly.
I saw the pub where my father had his fights
and I was proud when he beat McGonigal.
Then he left us again and I hated him.
I continued past the housing estate
to the rubbish-strewn canal
the place I escaped to
where the Carter boys
couldn't discover me.
I sailed with pirates
defeated aliens
slew dragons
rescued maidens
ran for the hell of it all.
I was a Masai stalking a lion
I broke the 4-minute mile barrier
I was the first to land on the moon
I scored the winning goal for England
I was Scott against the Antarctic winter
I ran with Buck to answer the call of the wild.
I was just a smelly boy with his smelly thoughts.
A different time and a different set of circumstances
a place where a silly child dreamed of escaping the dirt.
I quickened my pace as I returned to my vehicle.
There would be people who remembered me
but I decided to give them a miss.
I left them behind again
left the town behind
didn’t need them
didn’t need it
I didn’t
smell
now.
- Log in to post comments
Comments
Lots of great life writing
Lots of great life writing this morning, and this is one of them. Thank you for posting it!
- Log in to post comments
Your shared memories were an
Your shared memories were an interesting read.
Jenny.
- Log in to post comments
The middle section, full of
The middle section, full of dreams and imagination, really fleshes this out, giving hope for the narrator and also making us feel his childhood humiliations even more keenly. The ending is really uplifting - the reader wants to shout 'YES!' that the poet and his sibling have realised their own worth. A moving piece of life writing.
- Log in to post comments
This thoughtful and evocative
This thoughtful and evocative piece about kids' memories, and the perspective of time, is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day! Please share/retweet if you enjoy it too.
Picture via Pixabay, in the Public Domain.
- Log in to post comments
Good to hear your voice again :)
Gut reaction: I like the format, sands of time and an inhale <> exhale of lungs breathing through the scented trail of the past (you draw attention to smell several times) Good stuff sir.
best regards
Lena x
- Log in to post comments
So clever - l love seeing
So clever - l love seeing shape poems.
- Log in to post comments
Really solid writing, and I
Really solid writing, and I like the shape of it.
- Log in to post comments
Real strong work. Thoughtful,
Real strong work. Thoughtful, touching, entertaining and funny too. Nice tone/ way of relating this to the reader, too... natural. Props, much enjoyed.
- Log in to post comments
A warm and thoughtful
A warm and thoughtful reminiscence, this is our Poem of the Week. Congratulations!
- Log in to post comments
I left till now to read this,
I left till now to read this, Michael, because I wanted to savour it. I could see that it was an exceptional poem by the first few lines and was not disappointed. It is very original and imaginative.
Truly worthy of all the accolades.
Best, Luigi
- Log in to post comments
'Get stuffed you miserable
'Get stuffed you miserable bastard!' - the least 'poetic' line but the one that shows that you had a good chance of escape, that you 'didn't take it lying down'.Good poem in a good format.
- Log in to post comments