It’s time for Meet the Bar and Linda challenges us to consider anaphoria and epiphoria in our poetry, specifically epiphoria with repetition. Last Fall I met old friends for lunch….and we discussed the long ago. Since we met, one of the four has passed on to the What-Comes-Next, but these are my memories of the day. Submitted June 3, 2021
****************
Fifty years of the long ago
we were the mavens of the
parent-teacher group, typical
suburban Moms being room mothers
for our apple-cheeked children,
working at the school festival,
chaperoning field trips, attending ballgames,
and keeping our little post-war prefab houses tidy.
It was so long ago.
That day, we tottered into the restaurant,
much more slowly than in the long ago,
discussed our children and grandchildren,
and all the years between. Behind glasses,
wrinkles and canes, older and wiser, honed
by life’s joys and sorrows, victories and defeats,
we wondered how the years had passed
so quickly since the long ago. It was autumn
in Indiana and autumn in our lives that day, but
the sun was still shining, the air was sweet and
life was good…almost as good as it was in the long ago.
A nice work on reflecting on a relationship persisting overtime. I really like the line "autumn in Indiana and autumn in our lives.
ReplyDeletefull of nostalgia - "so quickly since the long ago. "
ReplyDeleteI think those final lines really sum it up--"the sun was still shining. . ."
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have those friends of so many years, and after this past year, how good it is, I'm sure, to see them again!
Sadly, one of the four passed on a couple of months ago.
DeleteHow lovely to meet and recall those youthful days and share updates of children and grandchildren. The years have passed so quickly. Life is good, then and now.
ReplyDeleteWe do cash in our memories when old friends gather. You found a gentleness and purity within your reflections; nice job.
ReplyDeleteSuch a pleasant way to call the past, "the long ago." I bet your brains were sparking bigtime and you all had such beautiful smiles on your faces as you gathered again. I love love love this line:
ReplyDelete"Behind glasses,
wrinkles and canes, older and wiser, honed"
An honest of reflection on the "long ago" without sounding too sentimental, I like that there is still sunshine and life is good although the "long ago" is still the idealized memory. 💝
ReplyDeleteA great poem of reflection. Being together with friends is as good as long ago! So sorry you lost one of your dear friends!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful reunion of homeroom mavens in a warmly nostalgic poem, Bev :)
ReplyDeletelove the parallels here, Ms. Beverly, and the progress from mommas of "apple-cheeked" children to friends who aged but remains the same.
ReplyDeletethe repetition in this line is so effective:
It was autumn
in Indiana and autumn in our lives that day,
The repetition of 'the long ago' is so poignant - tinged with nostalgia and sadness but also wonder. A moving poem Beverly.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that you have retained these friendships! The long ago merges into the present time.
ReplyDelete"Fifty years of the long ago" is a wonderful way to describe the past.
ReplyDeleteThe long ago .... I share it with many now. And the many I sorely miss.
ReplyDeleteAlways good to remember
ReplyDeleteThe years have flown by too fast for me too. But what a lovely way of putting it all in perspective.
ReplyDelete~��Dora
I really love the memories, at stage when even I can remember 50 years ago...
ReplyDeleteyou brought a smile to me - thank you ~
ReplyDelete