#SummerMagic by (ahem) Me! #Excerpt #Review

/ Marcia Meara

As summer winds down, I decided to share a poem of mine about a ten-year-old boy enjoying another day camping in the mountains with his dad. This is from my book Summer Magic: Poems of Life and Love, and is one of my personal favorites. Hope you enjoy it.

The Rope Swing

Sailing up, up into
Blue summer sky,
Hot rope rough against his hands,
He shouts with joy, and lets go.
For a crystal moment,
He hangs suspended,
Frozen in time
Like a fly in amber.
All awkward angles–
Shoulder blades and
Elbows, and
Knobby knees,
Painted against the sky,
Heart filled with fierce joy.

Dropping, down, down
Into clear green water
Cold on his skin,
He sinks to the silty bottom,
And sits suspended
In an alien world,
Watching the silvered flashes
Of tiny fish darting to and fro,
Startled by his sudden appearance.
I am a fish, too, he thinks,
And holds his breath
As long as he can.

Finally, he rockets up,
Through a stream of
Tickling bubbles,
Breaking the
Surface of the water,
With a loud whoop of
Childish exuberance,
All thoughts of becoming a fish
Forgotten as he
Scrambles out,
Shakes the water from his hair,
And, grinning, hitches up his
Baggy shorts.

He’s ready
To do it all again.
Flying through the summer air,
Dropping into the cold water
To commune with fishes
Silvered in refracted light,
Then leaping to the surface,
A boy of ten once more,
Laughing through an endless summer
Made perfect by a cool green pond,
And an old rope swing.
                                                         by Marcia Meara 

~~~

REVIEW

D.L. Finn
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful collection of poetry!

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2021

29 thoughts on “#SummerMagic by (ahem) Me! #Excerpt #Review”

  2. What a lovely poem. I could see that boy and hear the water splash and feel the sun on my skin. These swimming holes are so special. I had one when I was a kid, and my friend Slim Randles had one, too. He wrote an engaging essay about the swimming hole that he shared with me on my blog. I thought of that when I read your poem and I’m going to send him a link to this so he can read it, too.

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    • Thank you so much, Jan. I really wanted this little chapbook of poetry to do just that, especially the first segment, wherein MacKenzie Cole is a boy again, exploring the beauty of the North Carolina mountains with his dad. I’m happy you enjoyed this one. 😀 ❤

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    • Thanks so much, Mae. It does my heart good to know the book let you escape to relive your own summer magic. I’m glad you enjoyed this poem, and I agree about Denise’s review. I loved all the reviews this little book has received, and feel very lucky that poetry is still alive and well, even if not in quite the same numbers as some other genres. 😀 Thanks for stopping by! 😀 ❤

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    • Thank you so much, Michael. I’m really glad you enjoyed this one. Sorry about realizing how old you are, but everything’s relative you know. Imagine how I must feel at my ancient age! 😀 Thanks so much for stopping by, and here’s to a great rest of the week to you, too! 😀 ❤

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  7. What a poignant poem, Marcia. I think you brought all of us back to our youth! It’s so good, so healthy to remember the joys of life. Thank you, and congratulations to Denise for your lovely review. 💗

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    • Thanks so much, Gwen. I’m truly happy the poem was poignant for you and took you back to your youth. I agree that holding the joys of life close in our hearts has never been more important to our mental health than it is right now, and I hope this reminder of times gone by does that for lots of folks! And Denise’s review was so wonderful, I just had to share it. Thanks for stopping by today, Gwen, and I hope the rest of your week goes smoothly. 😀 ❤

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  8. I love this book and have it on my Kindle. If you do a paperback version, Marcia, I’ll buy that so I can dip into it more easily as I think this is one of those books that you keep coming back to.

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    • Thank you so much, Trish. And I’m actually considering creating a print version of this one, though it would be very, very short, which is why I haven’t already done so. But I’m looking at whether or not it’s actually doable now. I’m planning to do short print novellas of The Emissary series, and if that works, then I’ll see what can be done with a book of this length.

      So glad you enjoyed Summer Magic. It was a book I very much enjoyed putting together! Thanks for stopping by to let me know. 😀 ❤

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    • Thanks so much, Bette, both for sharing, and for planning to read the book. I hope you’ll really enjoy it when you do. Hint: it’s SHORT, so no major time commitment. 😁

      And thanks for stopping by today, too! 😀 ❤

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    • You’re welcome, Gill, and I’m glad to know you were able to get into it and enjoy it, especially the “clairity of the images.” Poetry is all about images and emotions to me, so I appreciate your comments. Thanks for stopping by! 😀

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    • Thanks, Staci. I’m trying my best to kiss summer goodbye, believe me, but it just won’t GO, dadblast it! I’m really tired of the 90+ degree days and beyond ready for fall. 😀 I thought maybe a “so long summer” poem would do the trick, but it’s already closing in on 90 again today, and it isn’t even 10am yet! GAH.

      At least I can post a few summery poems to make me see it in a more appealing way. 😉 Will share a couple more before long. Thanks for stopping by! 😀

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