The Summer of 1974

It was the summer I would first choke
on second hand marijuana smoke;
I passed the swimming pool lifeguard test
and received my first real paycheck.

It was the summer I learned how to drive -
got my license on the first try;
And, by Saint Leonard’s pond I was blessed
with discovering what was up her dress.

Nixon had resigned;
I saw “The Exorcist” for the first time;
Paul McCartney sang “Band on the Run”
and we were having some adult fun.

It was the summer I smiled a lot;
The first jewelry that I ever bought;
I looked forward to each coming day
as my innocence slowly slipped away.

But summers must always end;
I saw her with my friend;
The ring was soon returned;
It was the summer my heart got burned.

Forty summers have since passed,
Of heart breaks, it was not my last,
But of memories, I must confess,
In regards of time, it has passed the test.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2014

Poem

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Dietrich Avatar
June 22, 2014 at 7:04 PM
Love the part about your being blessed to see up a dress. I recall the guys at the bottom of our high school stairway looking up our dresses and some of us girls wore mini skirts. At the same time, it was age of the maxi skirt too! well, may we keep our fond 70's memories forever!!!
Dietrich Avatar
June 22, 2014 at 7:03 PM
OMG, what is going on here today? This is second time I was asked to log back on before I could post my text. this happened just five minutes earlier!!! I had written a LOT and I was not even able to keep what I wrote. Anyway, I had said this was very nostalgic for me. As I graduated in '73 and remember all this stuff all too well. I have to put the rest of my comment in another box.
Devonshire Avatar
June 22, 2014 at 3:08 PM
Dear Joe, How well you wove the events of this time when we were young. Loved the McCartney tune. Think it was his first album after The Beatles broke up. Saw "The Exorcist" on the road with our speech and debate team. Pretty gruesome. What I'll remember most though is the day Nixon resigned. My friend Barbara and I were traveling from Florida to NJ and were on the beltway around D.C. when we heard the news. Really enjoyed this wonderful poem! Memories - sigh. Love, Carolyn
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