Dark clouds
Hide the silver light
From his wide-eyed gaze.
Night reigns
In blackest glory,
Held at bay only
By the orange firelight.
The trees are gone,
Lost in gloom.
Everywhere,
A wall of black,
Except within
The fire’s warm
Circle.
Sparks rise up,
Twisting high
Until they disappear,
Lost in the darkness,
Only to be followed
By legions more.
Whippoorwills call,
And foxes bark,
And the night settles like
A blanket over all.
Grilled food
Is gobbled down,
Leaving behind only
The sweet scorched
Scent of burnt
Marshmallow.
He wears a smile
Dressed in melted chocolate,
And licks his sticky fingers
Clean.
The air turns cooler,
As day is forgotten,
And jewel-bright embers
Glow in heaps of ash.
He’s waited as long
As a young boy can.
Shivering, he asks,
Is it time?
A warm arm
Pulls him close,
Holding him safe,
And he asks again.
Is it time now, dad?
Yes, says his father,
His voice a deep
Familiar comfort
In the ink-dark night.
Yes, I believe it is.
Let me see,
Shall I tell you
A new one?
Will it have
Clacking bones
And eyes that glow?
Will there be cold wind
Whistling through trees,
And bats swooping,
And owls calling?
Of course, says his dad.
All of that, I’m sure,
For isn’t that what
You love the most?
Oh, yes, he sighs,
Safe and warm,
Eyes growing heavy
And sleep close by.
Tell me, dad,
Like you always do.
Tell me a story.
~ Summer Magic: Poems of Life and Love by Marcia Meara ~
The Write Stuff 
Beautiful and atmospheric!
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Thank you, Carmen. Of course, my favorite thing about it is, it features MacKenzie Cole as a boy of ten. I think writing his part of Summer Magic is why I decided to introduce that little boy called Rabbit in the second book of the series. Ten year old boys might be my favorite people in the world, except for Santa Claus and the Wizard of Oz, of course. 😀
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Reblogged this on Bookin' It and commented:
Check out the Halloween/Seasonal posts on The Write Stuff today!
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Wonderful. Goosebumps and shivers.
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Yay. Just what I was aiming for! 🙂 Thanks, LCTC!
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You are welcome.
Tess
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GASP! A name!! Yippeee! Tess, Tess, Bo Bess…oh, wait. Another Tune Loop for you. I’m really evil, aren’t I????
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Oh no. Is that the name game. Eeeeeeekk!
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*me, singing on* “bo-nana, fanna, fo Fess, Me, My, Mo Mess, Te-esss!”
(You now, by law, have the right to order me to cease and desist, and if I fail to do so, are allowed to beat me over the head with a stick until I fall down.)
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I found myself sitting there by the campfire…This poem is even more evocative than the first one you posted. Good poetry is tough to write. Kudos, Marcia!
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Aww, thanks, Linda. Poetry makes me happy, both to read and to write. I’ll never be up there with my very favorites, but I sure do enjoy writing it. I appreciate your kind comments, too!
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