“Chandlersville”

c.2020 Rod Ice

All rights reserved

(12-20)

Southeastern Ohio, 1966

Salt Creek Township

Muskingum County

My home after Shawnee

Though I was only four

Glad to move onward 

To house number three

Another point in eternity

My fifth birthday, close at hand

I watched our Silvertone TV on its accessory stand

Sat in the basement

Where Dad joined me on the couch

Kroger snacks from Zanesville

My baby belly

Growling to be filled

Roddenberry’s ‘Star Trek’

Had just come out

With our Corvair van by the garage door

And Purr-Mew the kitty

Sleeping on the concrete floor

We watched the Starship Enterprise

Moving at warp speed

On an intergalactic flight

I reached a kind of maturity

Watching Spock, McCoy, and Scotty

While thinking of a Beatles groove

Still trying to cope with our move

For Christmas Santa brought a gift

A Mustang 289 with standard shift

Perfect toy for a Buckeye boy

I wanted to cut open the hood

To see the motor

It had to be under there

I knew it was somewhere

Like the Floyd Clymer books told

At my grandparents’ home 

On Refugee Road

Columbus was my birthplace

But I dreamed of outer space

Radio dial whirled

Where I tuned in the outside world

Tales of the atom bomb

And calamities in Vietnam

I had no idea what was going on

Only that the love of Jesus

Protected us

That was enough to satisfy

Sin and sorrow were long away

I had no curses to say

Only a stop on the way

To visit our post office box

I would always make a pause

At Grandma Gillogly’s trailer

Old woman of the town

Gray locks and knitted socks

Tales of the war and Roosevelt

I was so young

So empty in mind

She filled me with stories of a yonder time

Where gentlemen hunted for fresh game

To put on the table

Feed the families if they were able

Shotguns, cleavers, smoking shack

I saw Old Man Walker

Give his chicken a whack

The deed sent me running

Yes, I was crying

The fowl ran around without its head

I wanted to tell my mother

That the bird was dead

But she dried my tears

Hugged away my fear

Said “It’s the way of the country,

don’t be afraid, Rodney!”

I fell on my knees

Gave thanks for what we would eat

Brother and sister

Were so young

But it came to pass

My little twin

Ran through a broken pane of glass

Busted out the storm door frame

Fleeing Dad, running away

He needed stitches

Blood on his britches

Then I got a lecture, straight away

For allowing him to misbehave

The older brother was me

I should have guarded my keep

Kept him safe from hurt

Put my parents on alert

I bowed my head

No redemption, but instead

A feeling of guilt

A prophecy fulfilled

I needed skills

Lessons learned to help me grow

As above, so also here below

I went to school across the road

Lucille West encouraged me

To be my best

The Bible gave me direction

When the day was done

Prayers said

At the foot of my bed

How could I understand that far from home

People sent pictures by fax telephone

Hippies were on a natural high

Sitar strings

Unusual things

Communist plots

Rorschach’s ink blots

Cities alive with unrest

Street fighting men

Marching in protest

Women like Susan B. Anthony

I had never heard of such incredible things

Nothing more than the schoolhouse across the road

My classroom, bestowed

By the school district plan

Of adults who wanted us to stand

For the pledge of allegiance

For the hope of our region

Out in a rural space

Forgotten and far astray

I spent my weekends catching frogs

Riding my Schwinn steed

From the hilltop to the intersection of 146 and 313

I could not imagine more

Than going from home to Baker’s General Store

Walker’s Filling Station

With a lunch counter

Professional drivers with seedy banter

Greasy nails and calloused paws

My brother was “Ronald McDonald Santa Claus”

They laughed at us

But we were safe enough

Watching their trucks

Roll through the mud

Back toward towns more civilized 

While we humbly prayed at the Church of Christ

Vacation Bible School

Wading in our kiddie pool

Following the Golden Rule

Mashed potatoes on Sunday

With Mom’s homemade gravy

Apple pie

A twinkle in our eyes

Stars overhead at night

I could not believe

There was anyone without a family

No conflict, crime, or poverty

Just Happy Clapper living next door

With an outhouse in the yard

An old fellow who kept to himself

Keen enough

On solitude and a well-stocked bookshelf

I knew not of the outside

Only that a downward slide

Would result

From finding fault

In the heart of me

If I failed to pray on bended knee

I did my chores

And washed behind my ears

My kinfolk kissed my wounds

They calmed my fears

But too soon that life disappeared

Now it seems like a thousand nights

Since I closed my eyes

And said goodnight

Written on my iPhone SE