When 'Forever' Really Felt Like It
by Jana Kalina
When 'Forever' Really Felt Like It
by Jana Kalina
When I was a kid,
I didn't know when summer was —
didn't know that solstice
was the beginning of its end;hours of daylight
in which to play
filled the cares of our lives,folded over each other
like soft ice cream overflowing
its cone. Mouthwateringanticipation conditioned by the truck's
tinkling sounds — a music box on wheels
that could be heard
winding its way through the neighbourhood,approaching slowly like adulthood
— a tantalizing promise
much sweeter from afar.Such creamy-white coolness,
still refreshing —
but richer now
for the memories of days
when calendars
were just pretty pictures —
not a measure
of the seconds of our lives
For those of you who journal or maintain a writing practice, I’m kicking off a weekly writing prompt to pair with my curated poem. I’ll also be going back in time through the last 90 or so poems and generating a poetry index and adding writing prompt so look for that post to drop. . . sometime soon!
As I do each and every week, I went looking for a poem with a theme in mind. This week, I knew I wanted a poem to honor the high holy days of summer (and nothing says summer better than ice cream), as well as speak to carefree living, timelessness, and a hint of nostalgia.
Here’s your prompt, kiddos.
“When I was a kid, I didn’t know…”
PS - if you’d like to share where this writing prompt took you in the comments below, please do!
PSS - do you know of anyone who might want to subscribe to my occasional missives? Send them my way!
When I was a kid I didn’t know that forever was not forever.
It wasn’t until I lost my beloved grandmother-and she had lost her mind years earlier-that I was able to really appreciate what loss was and by extension-time.
I am glad that this reality was not part of a childhood spent hunting down treasures at the local dump, going on picnics with my family and dreaming about how intended to conquer the world!
Thanks for the prompt—and the poem!