We Veterans at the DWP Lucy , Terre, Rick, Patrick, Doug, and myself – MIA Carlos, Adam, Wes

 

“Childhood is the barrel they give you …” Linda McCarriston

Ready aim fire

Your a child

Screaming

Kicking

Picking up food that you dropped on the ground and eating it

Picking up food you did not drop on the ground and eating it

Laughing

Playing

Imagining

Nothing too daring

Nothing too wonderful for you to behold

Going deep into every story that has been read

Going deep into every story you have ever written

Extracting inordinate amounts of imagination

Keeping in the littlest things

The greatest amount of gravitation

Slipping in and out of dizziness

Gripped by the horrific play of nightmarish …

Screams that will not be released

Running through the back yard barefooted

Never mind the rats, and the bee stings the naked little foot

No crying

Pull it out and keep going

Sliced the finger open on the piece of glass

That was the digging find in the back yard

Burry the kitten in a little cardboard box

Winter buries everything

The door way, jump out the window

The car

The sidewalk

The street

Every parked car

Banks 8 feet and 11 feet tall

And outlines everything too high

Trees look most wonderful in the snows blanket

1/4 stick of dynamite in the tallest snow drift

It’s snowing again

Where did a little kid get a quarter stick from

How did a little kid know to light a quarter stick with out blowing himself up

It’s summer again

Spring drenches puddled the sand in the box

Underground tunnels with metal hot rod cars and army men

All will be burned up with cherry bombs held in the hand with a pair of pliers

Time and time again, in the back yard, in the playground across the street, in the side of the house in the dark of the night

hide and go seek – your it and everyone is hidden real good

So you go back inside for about 20 minutes until everyone gets restless

Then you go out the side door back around the house and tag the first person you see

The Jarimillos live 2 doors down where the Gilmore’s used to live

Falicia was the cutest little girl, she was 5 or 6 and adorable

I was 8 or 9 and fascinated

I had a girlfriend shortly after, my first girlfriend around 9 or 10

She told me stories of how her dad abused her when she was a little baybe, maybe 3 maybe 4. Did her mom tell her , or did she remember those things

She wanted me to kiss her

I had no idea

She wanted me to do more than kiss her

I had no idea

I never learned until 14

I never learned until 19

I had a little girlfriend before her

Maybe i was 7

She was adorable in winter coats scarves and hats

My hat was stolen by the neighborhood punks

My uncle gave me a bat

Against 6

I got it back

I made the punk climb that tree he through it in

I got an apology and my hat back

Childhood is the barrel they give you

13:37;13 on august 16 2017

About 10 minutes of writing… i came in about 7 minutes late of the 20 minute timed writing, and it took a couple minutes to set up and get started.