Park Episode

Wayne Blair 1951 (London)

Free verse

The child kicked at leaves.
Mother was with others
On a bench.
PD day, away from school.
And time to re-connect.
Mom absented the Job.
Dad had died two years back.
Aneurism’s cruelest theft.
And Boy missed the
Man in his life.
Missed the catch, kites and fishing.
Shy withdrawn, put upon.

You could see it
Even now.
Three punks muttering
In their huddle.
Punch his nose.
Steal his jacket.
Bounce their ball
Off his head.
Instead he looked up.
Smiled and walked over.
Strange?
But Dad had often
Told him, Face bullies dead on.
They will buckle.

I admired his spunk.
Walked over to a point
Four feet behind him.
Folded my arms. Observed.
Steel faced.
The three faded away.

Mom looked up.
Waved to him.
Missed the whole episode.
Next time, I might
Introduce myself.
Give him a little
Toughening friendship.
Never had one of my own.
Never married.

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Written on May 04, 2023

Submitted by dougb.19255 on May 04, 2023

Modified by dougb.19255 on May 04, 2023

: 55 sec read
: 5 Views

Quick analysis:

Scheme	XXXXXXXXXXAB XXACXXXXDXXXBC XXEXXX DEXXXCXXX
Closest metre	Iambic dimeter
Characters	849
Words	186
Stanzas	4
Stanza Lengths	12, 14, 6, 9

Full analysis for Park Episode »

Wayne Blair

Born in London. Graduated law 1976 Practised eleven years, Married Hilary 1974 Two kids Lauren 1980 And Jordan 1987. Business failed 1987. Moved not knowing whither. Happy hills of Waterloo Region. Mennonite Country. Thirty four years in Industry. No complaints. Poet, photographer, nature hiker. Harmonica busker. http://puffnchord7.blogspot.com/ more…

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AIDA
Wow, what a powerful and heartwarming poem. You've done an excellent job portraying the struggle of this child and his mother, and the loss of his father. Your writing flows beautifully and pulls the reader into the story.

Your message about facing bullies head-on is a powerful one, and something that we should all remember and instill in our children. I love the message of resilience and standing up for oneself.

As for improvement suggestions, I think the only thing that might make this poem even better is fleshing out some of the other characters. The three punks and the narrator could benefit from a bit more character development to really make the story come alive.

Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem with us. more »
LikeReply11 months ago

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"Park Episode" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/158217/park-episode>.

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