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| Childhood me holding a bunny named Pinky I still have. |
My Rocking Chair
When I was young I used to go to my room
and sit in my rocking chair
an old faded padded one
that had belonged to my grandma.
While the rockers glided over the wooden floor
my mind conjured stories and dreams
remarkable dreams of life
as I hoped it would someday be.
As I rocked holding a doll or bear
I imagined my future rich with joy
fantasized achievements, conquests, love
and innumerable imaginative adventures.
Many hours I rocked in my chair
in substance only as my spirit soared,
propelled to distant lands, future times
by the magical vehicle only I knew.
Sometimes I yearn to visit the chair again
to help me envision remarkable dreams
but then I realize the future I dreamed is here
and I have long outgrown the rocking chair.
This poem is submitted to dVerse Poets Poetics for my prompt which is "childhood games or toys." Hope you will join us.
This poem is submitted to dVerse Poets Poetics for my prompt which is "childhood games or toys." Hope you will join us.
What a lovely evocation of your childhood! There was no rocking chair in my house when I grew up but I knew one family who had one and I really envied my friends. It does not surprise me that you could conjure up stories, 'remarkable dreams', 'imaginative adventures' and picture a rich future as you rocked in that chair. I like how you round your poem up in the last stanza with a reflection on your present life. The future we all dreamed as children is indeed here.
ReplyDeletebeautiful lines.........sometimes fond memories become the magical vehicle (love the expression) too taking us to that remote time.........
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteSo lovely to connect with childhood dreams and thoughts, even if only momentarily. You have shared your rocking chair days so well.
I particularly like this kind of reflection.
Eileen :)
nice... i wonder if that chair could fly as well.. kinda..eh.. smiles.. love the dreamy mood...i used to dream a lot when i were a kid.. always somewhere else with my thoughts...(it kinda never changed.. smiles)
ReplyDeletecool on the long history of the chair as well...and that pic is very cute...love that you still have that bunny...
Things in our childhood could be such sources of strength couldn't they? And their memories really live on. I think we all had our own "rocking chair" when we were little. Mine was a tree house :)
ReplyDeletesmiles...my wife had a purple desk she used to sit in every night and eat her ice cream....i dont know if i had a special seat i used to dream in...i think mine would have been the woods honestly....i am glad you have gotten to those dreams mary...and that you realize it as well....helps us to relish it...
ReplyDeleteSo wonderful to connect to your dreams in childhood....is this not the best source of creativity? Blessed, who remember their childhood....Love your pic with bunny Pinky, feels like very happy and bright child...Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteDreams from childhood in a great spot, bet you rocked a whole lot
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful memory.. I remember a children's rocking chair at my grandmother's .. we all competed for that me and my cousins.. at the end it was a shared chair. Lovely memories...
ReplyDeleteoh... don't grow completely out of that rocking chair... keep it close for an occasional sit... that would be good for the soul...
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written. That realization that we have grown up- how bitterly sweet is that. I loved your photograph. Such a splendid write. :-)
ReplyDelete-HA
How good to see that precious picture & toy still preserved ~ What precious memories they hold ~ Happy Saturday ~
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, although don't give up on the rocking chair, there is always more to dream about.
ReplyDeleteMy wife still has her childhood rocking chair, and it sits proudly in one corner of our living room, filled with old stuffed toy companions of hers; and now the grandchildren kiss & chew the one-eyed tiger & the plastic monkey, and rock the dickens out of that tiny chair.
ReplyDeleteA lovely reminiscence, leading to the realisation that the future is now. I hope your dreams came true!
ReplyDeleteMary it is a said fact but true I'm afraid. Great read. >KB
ReplyDeleteOh how I love this poem......it reminded me of rocking in my grandma's rocker in her living room in the afternoons while I listened to Maggie Muggins on the radio...........I love how you are now living the future you dreamed and no longer need the rocking chair - but wouldnt it have been wonderful to still have it, for Mya?
ReplyDeleteBEING A STAR
ReplyDeleteDreams are awakened when
dreams not forsaken are
by being up to ten,
being in charge, the star,
being as it, the sun.
Be a star to The Son!
Oh, I remember a quiet chair in my room not being a "time out," but a place of dreaming. I don't remember the exact chair, but the need for that time has never left me and I supposed that is what Virginia Woolf spoke of in "A Room of One's Own." I like the build of your poem from faded seat and grandmother, to rockers and floor, time and place, and finding you have made that trip. What joy!
ReplyDeleteHey, Dog Hoarder... :) as you rocked did you ever imagine a world where you'd meet in poetry with "strangers?" in far distant countries, states and town. Pretty cool, eh??
ReplyDeleteMy time outs were spent either weeding the garden or cleaning house, but I think I'm much better off for it.
LOVE that photo of you and Pinky bunny. You were (and still are) well loved, as you deserve to be.
xoxo
My grandmother had a rocker I still love. My sister has it now, and we share memories whenever we talk about that chair. Lovely poem.
ReplyDeleteRocking chair where dreams were made and achieved. Beautiful write.
ReplyDeletenice. something hypnotic or transcendent in rocking
ReplyDeleteGoodness my Grandmother had a rocking chair...I remember using it for the same reasons when we visited.
ReplyDeleteyou still have that bunny? wow!
ReplyDeletesome nice memories woven into this piece
Love the photo of you & Pinky and what you write hits home with me.....I used to sit on my fence thinking the same thoughts!
ReplyDeleteOh! you are so gorgeous:)
ReplyDelete...ah, that last line provides the most emotional & touching impact to me, Mary.... so, so, so good.... loved it! smiles...
ReplyDeletePart of the magic is just taking the time to imagine the future, another is the connection to your grandmother. What a special memory.
ReplyDeleteThe photo really helped set the tone. Well crafted piece Mary.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, what an amazing pic. And that you still have that bunny makes it even more special. Yes, it's funny when we realize that some of our childhood dreams and fantasies actually came true. Loved this, Mary. It's making me misty-eyed nostalgic.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely recollection of childhood ! It makes me nostalgic..I had a brown teddy which was my favourite toy. :-D
ReplyDeleteI would like to rock in that rocking chair!!! Brought back memories, of loved ones, long gone.
ReplyDeleteFirst I love seeing that photo of you .
ReplyDeleteHow great you still have Pinky.
This brought back memories for me too .
Nostalgia is always a bit bittersweet for me.
The wonderful things is much of what I dreamed and hoped for as a child I have now ~ simple joys surrounded by nature and animals.
A precious memory, and picture!
ReplyDeleteLove this Mary. It reminds me so much of my childhood as well, dreaming of my future, holding a favorite toy etc. Lovely memories.
ReplyDeleteMe, I've grown into my rocking chair.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful write, Mary!
Beautiful to visit your "dream" chair and to be a part of your reality. Beautiful journey from there to here.
ReplyDeleteThat was a beautiful journey. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love this poem Mary!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother had a chair like this~
I love your photo-YOUR smile is gorgeous!
and how the dreams were cast as we rocked. I fed both my girls in a rocking chair - beautiful moments in the middle of the night and day. A lovely journey Mary( how cute are you!) and I am glad you still have Pinky.
ReplyDeletestunning! and i love the photo, too ~ i had the same bangs!
ReplyDeletehope you have a great week, Mary!
♥
d