Childhood

childhood (puzzle poem) Dancing to the Jackson 5 at three in the morning Burning marshmallows on a campfire Bananas and chocolate with mom Sitting under the awning in the rain, listening to baseball running from cicadas The smell of cigarettes on dad’s jacket kissing Billy in the dark That time dad called the White House and got through Picking blackberries with aunt barb Sneaking into a movie theater with the girl next door Eating alone at lunch, too shy to make friends My brother falling in a hole in the road Fishing for crawdads, then being too afraid to touch them Scaring my sister with daddy long legs Waking up in the hospital after a seizure Getting a check that bounced for Christmas The lake in Wisconsin so clear you could see the bottom Trying to attract an older boy by pretending to be British Going to the drive-in when dad left after a fight Taking sleds to the meat market during the storm of '77 Jumping on the milk box Another brother in braces with an icicle as tall as he was pieces of my childhood each of them a story I cannot put them together for you You just had to be there