Ralph maintained a humongous
Heap out back.
Not crap. Useful items.
Chaotic to every eye but his.
He could put his finger on
Anything you’d need,
Including an old galvanized trough.
Five-year-old me,
Dropped a glass marble
Into that trough.
It landed with a tink,
Rolled along the bottom,
Randomly,
Making a feeble hollow rumble,
Then stopped.
No one heard but me,
And I quickly lost interest,
Leaving to investigate
Other crannies
Of Ralph’s impressive pile.
In a good way, this speaks of how we are alone and the pure innocence of children…of who we should never forget to be. Thank you. This is beautiful.