The Monkey Barrel

Archive for May, 2006

3 in the afternoon
Memorial Day 2006
Beautiful sun
High in the sky
A conversation between
My little boy
And his dumbstruck mom
Heavenly matters on the table
He is curious as
I explain the plan
Sin and Jesus
Forgiveness and blood
I tell him again
The story of the cross
Why He came
He says, “I believe that”
The right description
Of right and wrong
I find the path
Into his child’s world
He asks to pray
Tears spring out of my well
We find his dad
Some grass to kneel
Dear Jesus
Forgive me, I was wrong
Come stay, here
Inside of me
Jesus stepped down
Into his innocent heart
And the Father wrote
One more in the Book of Life

Glass packs growling
Baracuda’s tires
Biting into the asphalt
Two black leotards
Pink tights and ballet shoes
Backseat down
Gigglin girls layin
Looking through
The upside down
Bubble view
Blonde and brunette buns
Hand knit warmers
Wrapped around swingin legs
Whispering secrets
We’ll never remember
Happy two
In the green machine

Our kitchen table
Sketches and Drawings
Grocery fliers, coupons and mail
Towers of clutter
Stuck together with
Dinners leftover glue
Surrounded by
Jelly face grins
Peanutbutter fingers
Puddin kisses
And spilt milk sighs
Ritz cracker hockey
In the high chair
Free range cheerios
Scatter the floor
Groans and creaks
Under the weight
Of holiday feasts, elbows
And loud conversation
Intricate games
Juggle the dish
Pass the napkins
Find the salt
We gather here
In the heart of our home
Seldom few, often many
Always a family

I have myself a shoebox
That came with daddys shoes
Just like the laundry basket
I can fit inside it too

I pretend that it’s a spaceship
That whisks me off to space
Perhaps a little row boat
Sailing to a hiding place

Or maybe it’s a railroad train
To chug me to the west
And maybe I’m a baby bird
Snug inside my nest

But I know one thing that’s for sure
I love my brand new toy
And mommy laughs and shakes her head
Cause I’m her silly boy

And so Joy has had the last laugh on Martha. Marty and Joy stopped in for a bite this morning with their brand new brood of five. They are such sweet little ducklings all fluffy brown and yellow. They haven’t any names yet, as they are here on their first outing from the nursery. Chip, Charlie and Chuck came over to have a look but frightened the children so much that Marty ran them off. I saw Bill and Martha peeking over and murmuring to each other. I suppose Martha will be eating some humble pie on all that “cold” egg business.
I’ll try to catch some pictures of the new family soon.

Martha and Joy had a bit of a spat this morning. It seems Martha said something rather nasty about Joy and her nest. Something about cold eggs. Well that got Joys dander up, so when Martha came in for breakfast this morning, Joy hurried over and called her out. They went round and round the yard. Martha squawking, Joy yelling. Pretty soon Bill joined the group, but Joy was having none of that. She chased them both off and so now I’ll have to toss out todays menu. I hope it won’t last long. Spats like these are bad for the community business

So we have a few ducks who have been frequenting our fine establishment this spring. Marty and Joy have quite enjoyed the fine dining with an illustrious view of the gawking humans in the big picture window. Drinks are served in the shallows on the large orange promenade and some of our other patrons enjoy a game of slip and slide if they’ve had a little too much. Their neighbors, Bill and Martha, have given birth to a sizable brood of 8 who have been “divided” among relatives as their income is not quite enough to cover the expenses of such a large gaggle. They have kept the triplets and bring them over often for tea under the austere bird feeder. The children are quite well behaved and we hear only the tiniest of peeps from them. I have not yet learnt their names but when they visit next I shall ask them. As for now, their early evening repast has commenced and our regal host, Cardinal, has joined them to inquire on the quality of todays meal. I must be off as our waiters, Chip, Chucky, and Charlie have decided to sample from their plates and I need to remind them of their duties.