Last Commented Nostalgia Poems (1,154)

I recall an incident from my very early youth. I was around age four. My family lived on a white oak lined avenue in a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. The year was 1956. Just up at the top of the hill, five houses beyond my house was Oakleigh Elementary School. On the grounds, aside from the actual school building itself, were four baseball diamonds, a football field, soccer field, two tennis courts, a basketball court, several wooded areas, an old haunted house (not part of the school grounds, but it was there), and a corraled (metal bars) playground. In this playground, of the many apparatti available, was a merry go round, a sliding board, monkey bars, and swings. The playground was brand new, the ground strewn with sand and stringy wood pieces. My two best friends, Paul and Tommy (who were two years older than me) and I would often go to the playground from our homes to play (We lived very close and remember this was 1956). The end of the school jutted out toward the playground. Maybe, fifty feet apart from each other. Oakleigh elementary was a two story structure in which were taught grades 1 thru 6. One day, as my friends and I were playing, two figures appeared in the large picture window on the second floor at the end of the school overlooking the playground. It was a man and a woman. The man was naked and the woman, clothed, appeared to be scrubbing him just below the belly with a brush. (At the time, I didn't realize that that wasn't a brush in her hand). Without alarm, we played and then left for home. As we were heading home, we came upon our neighbor, Mr. Menninger. One of the older boys, I don't recall which (probably both), remarked to him that they had seen a naked man in the school. As it never crossed our minds that there was anything wrong (or mine anyway), we made our way to our homes. Soon after, there was a buzz going about on our street. Folks were outside. Shortly following, a police car went up our road to the school. After a while (I haven't a clue how long), the police car came back down the hill past our homes and disappeared. I saw two people in the back seat of the car as it passed. I was oblivious to the meaning of all the excitement, obviously. Some days later (for some reason), Paul, Tommy, and I, and our parents, had to get dressed up in the middle of a weekday and travel to this big building somewhere. I had never been there. Our parents walked us into the building and we were all seated in this wide hallway on some wooden benches. Well, we never left those benches for the longest time until some man in a suit came out of one of the doors and spoke to our folks. Something about it being all over. Now get this, then another man came over and gave each of we children a brand new crisp one dollar bill and told us "this is for appearing in court". Whatever that meant. I was bewildered by this entire affair.

I am wearing a glove, see it here on my hand,
The glove I intend to be part of myself.
A riddle is hidden under the glove,
Sweet to remember, leading thought to dark.

Here on my hand sweet sensation does rest
Of slender fingers of prettiest hand.
And just like a song that keeps playing in me
My friend the glove keeps reminding of thee.

Each has a riddle which leads us to dark
I have my glove as a sweet memoir
The glove I intend to keep on till time
Of our next meeting, reunion time.

In this day and age
And time and place
Discreetly peering at past
And present and future

It looks different now
But still fairly easy
To hope and dream
Finding happiness here

Surely it is common
For those of our age
To look at the achievements
Of the world and ourselves

Comparing them to others
Who lived in harder times
Or softer times, and placing
Our knowing selves again, wondering

Would we, could we
Travel the paths unbroken
Seeing obstacles
As mere challenges

Would we, could we
Search out those
Who we now see have
Value beyond the casual

And would we work as hard
To forge our friendships
Our loves our works or choose
To be blissful, slightly, ignorant

Moving along where the view
Is wide, the slope gentle
The pace easy, unintentional
Taking life that comes our way

Or, hungry, searching out
As if all is unexperienced and worth
The risks of climbing, turning,
Swimming through the tide

Living each adventure because
All is new, and different
Worthy of discovering
Over again, every day

---- IMAGE REMOVED because photobucket.com no longer allows embedded images ----

A different world
a different time
open the curtains and see
another time
courtesy of the silver screen
which opens on
this long forgotten scene

There at the beach people
swimming playing
the year is 1900
the era victorian
see the costumes
and the ladies
smiling and shy

Capturing the social
cultural and political
seasons of that time
fairgrounds full of people
on the swings
and roller coasters
little railways too

Leisure seaside riding
the tramcar's, people
walking laughing
riding paddle steamers
bathing huts on wheels
and donkey rides
don't miss one

Leaving victorian times
enter the Edwardian era
marked by summers so hot
cricket, see father batting
wife and children look on
garden parties and swariays
where dresses displayed

It was a fun and laughter era
leisure took its fullness there
lots of receptions, balls, and races
top hat and tails
long dress for ladies
stylish hats on parade there
ascot was on

Boating and boaters
flyers and floaters
blazer jackets flannels too
see the regatta
the boat teams rowing
down on the river
where couples found love

So were the fun times
people were having
but storm clouds gathered
the first war was near
end of an era as men
were conscripted
and madness came

Though when it all ended
they started once more
hunting and riding
while cricket was played again
royal ascot fashions arriving
who would have thought
a war had been won

Pre war was in action
punch and judy
beaches full of women and men
sand and bathers
piers and concert parties
Edwardian times
were living again

Then in London 1924
british empire exhibition on show
too long to talk about this
but massive it seemed to be
wild west shows
and everything goes
in the fun filled city

So in closing on that era
what a time it was
people so happy
and life so changed
looking back is lovely
when seeing those days
far gone in misty ways.

There was a woman
who saw that camera
focusing on here 1924
she looked with shyness
she looked with wonder
head bowed and face half hid
her smile alone on view
1924 woman who were you?

Salis in underland

it is not a poetry nor fiction,
there is here lack of action
for this is underland ,my grave
a bautified dressed man in cave

some winds passes the vacant graveyard
i passed those days of difficulty and being hard
a shadow is coming to underland s lack
also abundant of being too absurd s pack

a sudden joy in my blood
somebody coming after those damn flood
oh, you know who is the guest of honour
that s my sprit-lover-beloved lost power

Must be like the Whatipu rave!

I'm sure it was

Such a forgotten but longing of the natural buzz

Crooked Weta's and the Glow Worm scene
a land beyond time

Come see and feel, just what I mean


Of innocent played, an open door
fears you may, grab that oar

Bats! more bats!

Hanging posers of the moonlight

An insaciable hunger
so timely
that the crawling eyes
look and feel

Such sweet berries of deepest vein thirst

what ever could be a worst

Within a breath all blew away
there will be

No death today

An untouched land
in many ways

Haere Mai

Come out to the plays

SS
XX

All the days gone by
Makes me want to cry..

I think back at times
I'd listen to the soft chimes..

The wind had blown
My children were grown..

Time passed on
Days were gone..

My hair grayed
Life had frayed..

The yard had rough edges
With over grown hedges..

Happy times though
Will come and go..

Love is still here
I can feel it near..

With many warm looks
And well written books..

Always loved what I do
Even if my time flew..

Pages of my life have been turned
As well as many candles burned..

I'd rewrite my days
Never changing any of the ways..

All the warm smiles
Across the miles..

And given the chance
I'd take the same old dance..

~Author Elina Rawlins~

Forget me not my love You'll always have my heart. Where time and love and people meet We'll never be apart. And now with times uncertain And the outcome is unclear; Remember that I loved you And in my heart you're always near.

Hurrying about. Without a thought.
No time to worry about silly things.
Ink pen stuck in hair, no barrette.
Who really does care.
No time to rest must finish work.
If it is possible I think my brain hurts.
If I slow down hunger would catch up.
No time for lunch.
Bag of chips a quick munch.
Soon must look completely at ease.
As if it all just seemed to appear.
For they will call silence please.
And the meeting will begin.
Me watching the clock.
Waiting for it to end.

The first Cleo I regressed as a hypnotherapist, was a dark, inviting, lithe and handsome creature, full of that indefinable Mediterranean fire and flair, and she emitted pheromones that made every male within a 3- block radius drool with lust for her, er, I mean, ‘luv’, er I mean..., heck, you know what I mean... I thought she was an irritating little twirp when I first met her... She would annoyingly tug at my shirt-sleeve whenever she had a question and would rarely stop talking... But, I grew to like her, a lot, a real lot! I made it quite clear to her, that I would regress her as a friend, and not as a client, ‘cause I felt a romantic interest in her... We became fond friends and lovers of a sort..., don’t ask..., please just don’t ask... We discovered we both had a ravenous thirst for dancing, and every week we would regularly dance the night away, smoking cherry-flavoured cigarillos, and drinking Khalua Liquor, interspersed with wine spritzers for her and Johnny Walker Black for me...
---
I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to hold her in my arms and twirl her around the dance floor, or just gyrate rhythmically opposite each other, often imitating the primitive urges of the San peoples of our native Africa, and the oldest inhabitants of our planet, making moves our European counterparts would find awkward to emulate... I would bury my nose in her nape and drink long and deep from her mysterious life-force...
Aaahhh, that was the life...
---
To day, as I think of her, some tears stream down my lonely countenance,
Oh, how I miss her...

---


One day, with the saddest expression on her face, she asked me:
“Doc, do you love me?”
I could not lie to her,
“No,” I replied, “but you’re definitely a soul-mate, I think that if I fell in love with you, our relationship would become viscous and gooey, whereas now, its magnificent and free, and very Hawaiian, I can kiss you passionately in front of another woman and five minutes later, I can kiss her, and we have no problems, but the moment I tell you that I ‘love-you’, then I will become your slave and the beautiful relationship we now have would soon wither away and end bitterly...
The most forlorn expression crossed her face, for just a mirage of an instant, then she grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor...
I felt like the biggest jerk...
---
A couple of years later, I did fall deeply in love with her,
And I asked her to marry me, and told her how much I was in love with her,
But, once again, with the saddest expression on her face, she replied:
“Doc, how can I ever believe that you’re not doing this out of pity for me?”
She had wisely never forgotten the cavernous wounds my words inflicted on her that night not so long ago...
---
To day, as I think of her, some tears stream down my lonely countenance,
Oh, how I miss her...