A shimmering butterfly
circles the honeysuckle
in the backyard where
sunflowers grow a
foot tall, by daddy’s
garage where doo-wop
streams from the radio
this hot Passover Day
slurping Kool-Aid and
munching matzah
in my Superman
clubhouse
wishing my Sister
would go away.
(c) Rob Goldstein 1984-2019
“It’s Superman” Rob Goldstein 2019
Loved the snippet of memoir – and of course the Superman cape, lol 😉
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🙂
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This is a lovely poem, Rob. Joyous and beautiful.
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Thanks Robbie. I sometimes feel like the Debbie Downer of poetry. 🙂
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Loved that. Can hear your ‘voice’ in it, plain as day. Could have read that without knowing it was yours and attributed it to you.
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love this 🔥🔥
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Thank you, Tim. 🙂
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I don’t think my last showed up. 😔
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The spam settings needed tweaking.
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Did you get it? The one about my brother?
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I’m a little confused.
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That’s okay. I stay confused. LOL.
I sent a comment about my brother, referencing the “wanting my sister to go away.” We were children. Children say shit. Your sister is gone now. So is my brother. 😪
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Got it. Children say stuff, and wanting a sibling to go away for awhile is a common experience.
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Brought strong imagines of a time long past!
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It is an entirely different world, isn’t it? Even more amazing is many of the people who grew up in that world are still relatively young. My sister would be in her late 50’s. I wonder if the rapid evolution of high technology has caused a tunnel effect that makes the past seem more distant than it is.
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That very true how quickly the changes came. Maybe it does seem so long ago because of that but to me its like yesterday sometimes and another life.
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Yes, it was another life, and for many of us it is yesterday.
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Reblogged this on Survivors Blog Here.
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Thank you, Melinda.
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I love this, Rob! And “Runaround Sue” is the perfect fit for the post! Well-done!
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Thank you. Jan. I haven’t listened to “Runaround Sue” in decades. It’s a great song.
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This reminds me of my childhood years, playing outdoors. I love the superman image too Rob!
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Thank you. The Superman image is based on a frame grab from a clip I found on the Internet Archives.
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I like the effects.
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Thank you. It was a lucky accident. I’m glad you like it. 🙂
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I had to chuckle at the “wishing my sister would go away.” 😘
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Thank you, Laurel. I had mixed feelings about that line because I’m still grieving her death.
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I know. I hesitated to leave that comment but…😪
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It’s fine Laurel. The memory includes thinking my sister would always be there. And most kids have those moments when they wish a sister or brother would just go away.
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I remember thinking that about my middle brother. I was always tasked with watching him when I was at home. He wasn’t “all there” and I resented not being able to do what I wanted to do. He’s gone now, and I think back on those times…but…when he finally went to a home, I was the only one in the family who went to see him, even though he didn’t know who I was.
Grieve…and smile when you remember her.
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Very evocative. Reminds me of when the shed in our garden was my space – and being told to play with my sister!
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Mary, thanks for your comment. That old clubhouse was a tool shed next to my Father’s garage. I enjoyed working on this piece.
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Reading other comments here, it’s clear this poem resonates with many of us 🙂
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The nice thing about this poem is it’s a good memory and a common childhood theme: that’s not true of most of the work I produce based on childhood. This piece comes from a happy place in my psyche; the part that remembers wonder, magic, and playing with trucks. 🙂
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Marvelous artwork, recognized the world over and poetry so very much of our time.
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The Superman piece is a frame from an animated promotional film from the 1950’s.
The image looks very much like the photo I used as a kid for my clubhouse. Thanks Paula.
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