#NationalPoetryMonth – #SummerMagic – Mac at Ten

/ Marcia Meara

Another poem from Summer Magic, though I don’t have a picture that works as well for this one. I’m afraid you’ll have to make do with the view from the very top of Wake-Robin Ridge–or at least, the way I imagined it, since WRR only exists in my mind.  Hope you enjoy this one, though since it’s from Dad’s POV,  it is a bit more introspective than the last.

Bruises
by Marcia Meara

Pale blue eyes,
Fringed in black,
Look out at the world
With the wild, free spirit
Only a ten-year-old boy
Knows how to nurture.

A shock of black hair falls over his brow
As he frowns thoughtfully,
Examining a scab on one knobby knee.
A souvenir from yesterday’s hike,
Acquired while showing off for Dad.
Again.

Long and thin, his scraped-up legs
Have become maps of small hurts,
Tracing each day of his summer.
A scratch here, from picking
Wild blackberries,
And a bruise there, from
Swinging on a low limb.
Those and so many more,
Injuries acquired while calling,
Watch, Dad, watch!
See what I can do!

Badges.
Attesting to his bravery,
Marking his adventures,
And confirming in his mind
His place among Immortals.

His dad sighs, all too aware
More bumps and scrapes
Lie ahead.
No way to guard him
Against the future bruises
Life will bring.
His boy will be marked,
Abraded by time and
The world around him,
Though some scars will be
Much less obvious than others.

 

21 thoughts on “#NationalPoetryMonth – #SummerMagic – Mac at Ten”

    • Thanks, Staci. I do believe Rabbit is everyone’s favorite character. I know he is very dear to me, and I learn things from him all the time. 😀 Hope you enjoy the rest of the book. As for the Ridge, the view from the big rock beneath Mac’s balcony would look very much like this picture. Miles and miles and miles of rolling hills disappearing into the distance. (That rock eventually becomes known as Rabbit’s “Thinking Rock,” as that’s where he heads when he has problems to solve. 🙂 )

      Glad you like this one. Of course, this is about a different little boy (Mac at age ten), but their love of the mountains is an integral part of both of them, and for Mac, these summer camping trips with his dad are why. Glad you enjoyed it, and happy reading! 😉 😀 ❤

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        • Well, I did give a little hint in the title of the post. 😀 The first half of Summer Magic is called “Mac at Ten,” and the second half is the “Life & Love section.” It’s a very short little chapbook of poetry written the year I wrote Wake-Robin Ridge. I was still celebrating MacKenzie Cole, plus I had a few other ideas floating around in my head. I’ll share more over the next couple of days. 😀 And so glad you are enjoying Rabbit’s story. He has usurped my entire romantic suspense series, I’m afraid. 😀

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    • Thanks, Mary! So glad you enjoyed it. And now you can see why the North Carolina mountains are my favorite place in the world. (So far.) They are the oldest mountains on the planet, worn down by eons of wind and rain, and so mystical to me. As much as I love Florida’s rivers and wildlife, my heart is definitely in those mountains. 🙂 One day, I want a cabin on a stream in the woods, just like Sarah’s! 😀

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        • I hope so. I think you’d LOVE them, just as I would love to see your corner of the world. They are so beautiful. And don’t even get me started on waterfalls! *sigh* Pretty scarce in Florida, seeing as how anything over 8′ elevation is considered a pretty big hill around here! 😀

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    • Exactly. Children should be taught to take a few knocks here and there and move on. And they need to understand that they won’t win every time, and how to lose gracefully. That’s my opinion, anyway, for what it’s worth. As much as we want to protect them, we aren’t doing them any favors if we don’t let them pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and start all over again. (Hey! Those sound like song lyrics! Hahahaha.)

      Thanks for your kind words, Darlene. I’m glad you liked this one! 🙂

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    • Thanks so much! And I’m so glad you enjoyed the WRR novels, too! Oh, that part of the world is just breathtaking, for sure. Thanks, too, for taking the time to comment. Have a great weekend! 🙂

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    • Thanks, Diana! The poem I posted just before this one is really filled with childish exuberance, and this one was meant to give a bit of Dad’s POV to the summers Mac spent camping in the mountains. Hope you’ll enjoy it, as well. I think the next one I share will return to that portion of the book, “Mac at Ten,” with a poem about stories around the fire. Can’t have too many sad ones in a row, after all. 😀 Glad you enjoyed this one.

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