Picture and Poem From Rod
Free Joy
Three days shy
My 61st year
In Prospect Park, Brooklyn
A kite, bright yellow, blue, and green –
Cheap, disposable –
I flew.
First time ever
And still the joy lingers.
At times the kite flew free
High above the ground
At other times
Crashing to the ground
But no matter
Today a kite I flew.
Such free joy. |
As a boy I flew no kites - memorized Scripture
serious religion imbibed
really, really iron-fisted hell-hot religion
and chased fly balls
Slid into second with cleats high
Felt the nerves
Swallowed the fear
As the fastball came plateward.
God and Baseball.
And me pitching for both
My whole childhood
If such it can be called.
God and Baseball defined my years
All day
Every day
I thought I loved it
And then today
Three days shy of
my 61st birthday
In Prospect Park Brooklyn New York
I flew a kite
For fun
For joy
For me.
I still feel my legs
Running through the grass
In the slow gait of the old.
I can’t take it all in
My heart pounds.
Meeting God in Prospect Park.
Just for fun. For free.
Who could have imagined such a thing
After all this time?