My Hudson Valley Childhood

"How sweet to the heart are the scenes of my childhood"

                                   Samuel Woodworth, 1785-1842


MY HUDSON VALLEY CHILDHOOD

Mother dropped us — we’ve no fear of attack,
shopping in Poughkeepsie, when it was clean.
Teens buy nail polish —hers blue, mine lilac.

Feathered-Farrah hair, wear bell-bottom jeans.*
No call waiting, phones attached to the wall.
Sans social media, not very mean.

Prom in auditorium — had a ball.
Wore wedding-white, back then I was scot-free.
I declared prophecy before my fall.**

Burgeoning sights and sounds —poetic me
adored rainstorms, the way the branches bend
at the onset when wind frazzles shade trees.

Perched in maple with my neighborhood friends,
riding my bicycle all around town —
sunny and cloudy days breathlessly spend.

Memory swinging at village playground.
My Hudson Valley’s a luscious hometown.

                                     11/23/2020
                         Contest: Terza Rima Form
                       Sponsor: Constance La France

*Farrah Fawcett, Charlie’s Angels’ fame, 1970’s hairstyle 

**Before I fell in love. I wore that same dress when I got married. I had said to my mother, “This would make a nice wedding dress.” I married just a few months after I joined the Navy. Had no idea I would find a husband or wear this dress when I got married. LOL...so young.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2020



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Date: 12/2/2020 9:04:00 AM
What wonderful memories, Kim. The Hudson Valley is truly beautiful and you have described it so beautifully! Congratulations on your win!
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Date: 11/30/2020 11:44:00 AM
Congratulations on the win Kim! Linda
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Kim Rodrigues
Date: 11/30/2020 3:26:00 PM
Thank you, Linda!
Date: 11/29/2020 6:54:00 PM
just now seeing you met hubbie in navy. So cool. And Big congrats for your win here.
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Kim Rodrigues
Date: 11/30/2020 5:23:00 AM
Thank you, Andrea! :)
Date: 11/29/2020 7:07:00 AM
Hi Kim, Hi Tania, Congratulations on your 2nd place win. Have a great day:-)Alexis
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Kim Rodrigues
Date: 11/30/2020 5:24:00 AM
Thanks, Alexis!
Date: 11/29/2020 6:09:00 AM
Wonderful memories Kim--well deserving of your podium win in the contest.
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Kim Rodrigues
Date: 11/30/2020 5:24:00 AM
Thank you, Vijay!
Date: 11/29/2020 1:36:00 AM
Kim, congratulations on your win in my Terza Rima Contest with this wonderful and sweetly penned poem _Constance
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Kim Rodrigues
Date: 11/29/2020 5:32:00 AM
Thank you, Constance!
Date: 11/28/2020 10:26:00 PM
stupendous poem shared
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Kim Rodrigues
Date: 11/29/2020 5:32:00 AM
Thank you, Mahtab!
Date: 11/27/2020 12:31:00 PM
What a gorgeous slice of life! Wow! Darling! Sounds like a whirlwind romance!
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Kim Rodrigues
Date: 11/27/2020 1:18:00 PM
Thanks, you! Blessings your way!
Date: 11/23/2020 5:26:00 PM
No kidding? -- Poughkeepsie! One of my best friends in college was from Red Hook, N.Y. Ever hear of it?... And wasn't Vassar in Poughkeepsie, or something?! ~ Memory Dimming
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Kim Rodrigues
Date: 11/23/2020 5:58:00 PM
Of course! Yes, Vassar and Marist too. I also lived in adjoining Hyde Park, home of FDR.
Date: 11/23/2020 10:30:00 AM
hey you joined navy? that is where my mom met my dad. Did they still call you a wave back then? I think you were slightly ahead of me in the era (or maybe not). Farrah came in late 70's, right? I married in '75 in my second year of college. Loved the reference to the awesome bell bottom jeans. I LOVED mine. Great lines in your poem, Kim
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Kim Rodrigues
Date: 11/23/2020 10:50:00 AM
Thank you, Andrea! I went to prom in late ‘70’s and married my husband in 1980. We were not referred to as waves at that time. Cool that your parents met in the Navy as did my husband and I.
Date: 11/23/2020 10:02:00 AM
Enjoyed your trip down memory lane Kim Hope you're well Tom
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Tom Cunningham
Date: 11/24/2020 4:05:00 AM
Alk good thanks, lockdown ends next week, at long last.
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Kim Rodrigues
Date: 11/23/2020 10:48:00 AM
Thank you! I’m doing fine and you?
Date: 11/23/2020 9:37:00 AM
How I wish I could have seen you in that wedding dress. Excellent poem. ~~
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Kim Rodrigues
Date: 11/23/2020 10:47:00 AM
Thanks, dear friend!
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