I won’t be doing a poem-a-day every day this year but I will be writing a poem-some-days. The prompt is from Robert Lee Brewer’s Poetic Asides blog.
For today’s prompt, write a reminiscing poem. In my mind, this means a poem that remembers something (a moment, a relationship, etc.). The poem could be kind of nostalgic or sharing lessons learned. But for those new to these challenges, you should know that I consider these prompts open to interpretation–so if you have another take, go for it.
Painting the Porch
I’d paint the porch
when I was bored
on summer boyhood
afternoons.
My mother gave me this job,
when I was pestering,
hand me a paintbrush
and pail of water
for the smooth concrete
baking in the sun.
I took the wet brush
and darkened the glaring
surface without painting
myself into a corner
literally.
Some days before I’d finished
the parts painted earliest
dried under blue Ohio skies
so I’d start over,
spend all afternoon
working the problem.
Unthinkable to dump
the bucket and cover
the slab instantly,
precise patterns of brushstrokes
were required to conform
to the geometry
of the front porch.
If my mommy asked,
it must be important,
so I did my best.
Bartholomew Barker, Poet 