A Poem of Remembrance
Keeping with our theme of memoirs and reflections, read the following poem and respond to it in terms of what it means to you and what it reminds you of from your past.
Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Received from a Friend Called Felicity
During that summer
When unicorns were still possible;
When the purpose of knees
Was to be skinned;
When shiny horse chestnuts
(Hallowed out
Fitted with straws
Crammed with tobacco
Stolen from butts
In family ashtrays)
Were puffed in green lizard silence
While straddling thick branches
Far above and away
From the softening effects
Of civilization;During that summer-
Which may never have been at all;
But which has become more real
Than the one that was-
Watermelons ruled.
Filed under: Poetry and
This poem reminds me of many great summers back when I was younger. It reminds me of how much fun summer is supposed to be, when you’re free of school and work and not a thing can bring you down. The long, hot summer days, and warm summer nights. The lines “When the purpose of knees was to be skinned” brings back so many memories of playing football outside with my cousins. We would joke around alot because I’m the only girl in the family, and I’m the youngest. My cousins would always joke about “playing rough” with me, but my cousin Chandler and I would always end up ganging up on my older cousin I.S. and we would all wrestle! That part of the poem really brought back memories.
Also, the last line of the poem when it says “Watermelons ruled.” reminds me of fun summer days with my cousins too, because we would always have watermelon; especially at our lakehouse on the 4th of July. It seems like every afternoon we would be at my pool in my backyard swimming, eating watermelon, and drinking lemonade. I really liked this poem because it brought back such great memories with my cousins.
This poem reminds me of the fun that I have had in the past summers. The line “when the purpose of knees was to be skinned” reminds me of all those fun times in summer when I would trip down a hill, or fall off of my bike, or just do a face plant in the sand. I was a complete klutz when I was little, and I always fell down at the strangest time. The poem itself reminded me of all the discoverys I thought that I made, such as when I found a waterfall that toppled down into a small pool surrounded by stones, and a rock wall with a scratchy old rope winding that was tied to a tree at the top made just for climbing. It even made me think of when I was learnig to ride my bike in my backyrd, so that it wouldn’t hurt if I fell. This poem made me think of some of my adventures from my childhood.
to me, this poem reminds me of the fun that the artist used to have with a friend. they talked about eating watermelon, unicorns, and smoking tobacco. this poem reminds me of the summer’s i used to have with my friends. we used to play kickball all day and ride our bikes down to my school. at school we would ride over speed bumps and play on the jungle gym. i had a lot of fun during those summers.