Notes About The Poem
Poem 67
From the anthology, Voices From Mt. Olive Cemetery, a work in progress.
Kenneth Standish 1912-1919
Kenneth Standish
1912-1919
We lived on Newlin Street in a gray house,
Across from the Catholic church, St. Mary’s.
I loved going to the Mass every morning,
Which I did daily with my shirt tucked in.
Until my kidney sickness stopped me.
I would have been a altar boy,
Had I lived longer.
But I hated Catholic school with that nun!
She was mean to me.
One time, I had my shirttail out in class,
And got a loud scolding from Sister Evangela.
I was embarrassed and turned red, and the kids laughed.
But I got over it fast enough.
Still, I loved all the gospel stories we heard,
And recess time with the fellas;
Wish I could go to school again.
Wish I could see my friends at the wall.
We all played “four-square” there during recess.
Wish I could live again, and play ball.
Wish I could see mom and pop in the kitchen again,
As they were, young and hard-working,
And as always telling me to wash my hands and eat.
I can still hear their same familiar voices,
Inside our old gray house on Newlin Street.
The front door, it seemed, was always open.
But now, well, there is no door where I am.
This graveyard is strange at night.
I hear footsteps on the paths above me, and
I wonder who is up there, when I hear them.
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