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Lucky Seventh Son

What made you so special my freckle faced friend..
the day I heard you singing to a record, from your window next door.
Bell bottom clad teenaged knock out, with a ballerina's step..     
In huge Cape Cod two story where dreams took form.

My mom hummed a tune as she ironed my best shirt..
Fumbled with your corsage, wondering why I chose red.
Last dance I remembered was always our first, 
humbled by a mirage., in a golden gown dress.

Realized too late the secret your parents kept, 
all the plans they'd made for you..
plain enough to see I wasn't part of them.

Not enough coins lined my pockets to set you free,
at least not enough for them to ransom you to me.

Some days found me prayin',
some I cursed right out loud.
Wonderin' does the one you share today in,  
know the goldmine he had found. 

Did he bring you eyes full of stars,
and promise all his tomorrows.
Realize what heaven sent gift you are, 
never lament a heart left to sorrow.   

Does he read them bedtime stories, 
and tuck them into bed..
Listen to child borne wonders and worries,
every wild dream that fills their head.

And did you share those freckled hands,
  every time you stopped to tie their shoes..
protect them with those same plotted plans, 
your parents chose for you. 

Do you ever hear that record playing..
among the distant stars that shined so bright?

New days come, battles lost and battles won..
lost in heartfelt wish that I'd been born..
that lucky seventh of seventh son.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright © | Year Posted 2021

Poem

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Vionet Avatar
July 12, 2021 at 7:17 AM
Very nicely penned.
Theraven Avatar
August 22, 2021 at 8:19 AM
Hello Anais, Thanks for the comment. -Richard
Callus Avatar
May 2, 2021 at 2:54 PM
This poem is beautiful, sad, and pulls at the reader's heartstrings, Richard...but most of all I am drawn to it by its creativity. Well done! ~ Regards // paul
Theraven Avatar
May 22, 2021 at 2:53 PM
Paul, Thanks. I would welcome comments like these all day long. "There may not be one dimple on her hand; And freckles many; ah! a careless nurse, In haste to teach the little thing to walk, May have crumpt up a pair of Dian's legs, And warpt the ivory of a Juno's neck." -John Keats
Krutsinger Avatar
April 28, 2021 at 9:43 PM
"Wonderin' does the one you share today in, know the goldmine he had found. " Wow! I am amazed at this one. Wow!
Theraven Avatar
May 1, 2021 at 11:35 AM
Caren, Thanks. How full is your own goldmine this first day in May? -Richard
Makama Avatar
April 27, 2021 at 8:14 PM
Beautifully written with so much grace. Your lines are thick with craft and fascination. Great work.
Theraven Avatar
May 1, 2021 at 11:34 AM
Hello Funam, Thank you for the comment in grace. We'll all find it one day. -Richard
Goldsmith Avatar
April 25, 2021 at 11:43 AM
WOW!!! What a wonderful/creative story/write. Parents do not know everything. Many lives would be happy or let them learn on their own. The parents did. Life can be very hard. Have a very blessed day....................
Theraven Avatar
May 1, 2021 at 11:32 AM
Paula, Thanks for the Wow factor. Sins of the fathers are visited upon the children. Old adage rooted in truth perhaps. -Richard
Brewer Avatar
April 24, 2021 at 5:52 PM
A poignant tale of what might have been, told with evocative detail and sensitivity, to touch the heart. Well written! Richard.
Theraven Avatar
April 24, 2021 at 9:33 PM
Thanks Geoffrey, what might in what might of... -R
Wolf Avatar
April 18, 2021 at 6:52 PM
Las Vegas, aka 'Lost Wages,' wishes it knew where that 'seventh son of a seventh son' came from: Mark of Cain; badge of shame. ~ Dis Abled (Shelly Adelson, 'big-bucks State of Israel Supporter,' should have known better... Or maybe he did!).
Theraven Avatar
May 1, 2021 at 11:26 AM
Gershon, The strip in the desert didn't turn out all that well for Bugsy either. -Richard
Ashley Avatar
April 7, 2021 at 5:49 PM
Oh Richard, your emotive poem and the evocative piano piece are simply stunning in the way they wistfully grab my heart and wishfully mist my eyes. An intimate and bittersweet piece of brokenhearted beauty! Under the influence of your gifted pen, lost love is a cruel but golden muse. Warmest wishes.. ~Susan
Theraven Avatar
April 14, 2021 at 7:59 PM
Susan, Thank you for the warm wishes and terrific comment. -Richard
Chiri Avatar
April 3, 2021 at 1:11 PM
Your words are always mesmerizing!:)
Theraven Avatar
April 5, 2021 at 7:49 PM
Thank you Brenda. -Richard
Faulkner Avatar
April 2, 2021 at 8:42 AM
This has a nice flow to it, I really like 'did he bring you eyes full of stars' and 'did you share those freckled hands' - great imagery there, I can feel the sad nostalgia and wishful thinking, you are quite the poet!
Theraven Avatar
April 2, 2021 at 11:39 PM
Michelle, Thanks, you are perceptive to the very end. They were such special shoes. All part of a plan I never knew. -Richard
Lamoureux Avatar
March 31, 2021 at 7:58 PM
Thanks for your visit Richard. ;0)
Goff Avatar
March 31, 2021 at 9:01 AM
Helicopter parents run amok...nice one, QTR!
Theraven Avatar
March 31, 2021 at 3:45 PM
Thank you James, 'Helicopter parents'..that was a new one to me. I think I like it. But I like so many things. -Richard
Rodrigues Avatar
March 31, 2021 at 8:06 AM
Thoroughly enjoyed this write, Richard! God bless you.
Theraven Avatar
March 31, 2021 at 3:43 PM
Thanks Kim, may God bless you too. I enjoyed it a lot more in the writing than in the living. -Richard
Rose  Avatar
March 30, 2021 at 2:29 PM
Ah, what a story, I can see that your heart was so attached, it makes for great poetry , but I feel the sadness in it all. Mayhaps in another lifetime ? Love and light Richard.
Theraven Avatar
March 31, 2021 at 3:39 PM
Mystic Rose Rose, Thanks. Yeah., there's that. Gotten good at these days; feeling sorry for myself. Some might see it rightly that way. They wouldn't be wrong. “We are never so defenseless against suffering as when we love. ~~ Where does a thought go when it's forgotten?” -Sigmund Freud
Lamoureux Avatar
March 29, 2021 at 10:05 PM
Simply amazing Richard. I’m lost for words on how to say how much I enjoyed this piece!
Theraven Avatar
March 31, 2021 at 2:59 PM
Thank you, you're response is amazing. A far better thing that you do, when you point out the talent of a fine poet in a poem called 'A Poem for Michael'. -Richard
Mcconnell Avatar
March 29, 2021 at 1:22 PM
nice one Richard, very well written with great imagery too. Blessings, Gordon
Theraven Avatar
March 31, 2021 at 2:30 PM
Thank you Gordon, hope your week is being kind. -Richard
Dietrich Avatar
March 28, 2021 at 1:46 PM
wow, this is SO good. It makes me think there is truth in it. If not, it sure is convincing. A FAVE
Theraven Avatar
March 28, 2021 at 7:54 PM
Hello Andrea, Thanks for the comment and Fave. There is always truth hiding just below the surface. It was a rose, and a heavy one in that corsage. Her dress was a fine material, though oh so thin. I was afraid I would damage it or her with the pin. -Richard
Buehler Avatar
March 28, 2021 at 9:25 AM
Richard, your poem recounting bittersweet memories of a lost love, is elegantly rendered. Too many believe that money can buy happiness. Blessings, Evelyn
Theraven Avatar
March 28, 2021 at 7:48 PM
Hello Evelyn, Thank you for reading my mind. And maybe money is the problem, root of all e.... Never had enough to know what too much is like., perhaps therein lies the problem. Never will you ever think you have enough. -Richard
Pandit Avatar
March 27, 2021 at 3:06 PM
No way he promised all his tomorrows--neither does he realize what a heaven sent gift she is. Sad when hearts are broken by parents who believe in material things. Yet, it happens in many cultures! You shine light on them, Richard.
Theraven Avatar
March 28, 2021 at 7:39 PM
Vijay, Thank you for the challenging comments. Still, I'll wish that he kept the promise and still does, if only for sake of her happiness. I won't hold it against a man that's rich (in so many ways) just as we shouldn't hold it against the poorer. However, I do so through gritted teeth. I'm only human after all. -Richard
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