CREEK ROAD GANG
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Joe Quinton: 3 Poems
copyright 2010
“Raise a flavor from the graveyard”
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Advertisement
Ice cream is not simple
It carries the burden of memory.
Places, people, that should disappear
Float back on waves of sweetness.
BLANDING’S: RUM RAISIN
A movie set drugstore with a marble fountain
At age 8 I would walk from home alone
Money in my pocket approach the bar
And order. I was an adult.
GIBSON’S: PEANUT BRICKLE
She in her school uniform
Obviously as enthused as I, a date.
We shared a confection hoping it led
To excitement beyond our youth.
BAILEYS: COFFEE FUDGE
Both married it seemed innocuous
To meet at an ice cream parlor.
For two there is no place for innocence.
We proved that as closeness grew.
ICE CREAM CLUB: MANGO PEACH
The heavy sun spoke of foreign countries,
Her southern accented speech exotic,
We ate childish food saying we were both adults
It was more than ice cream harmony.
SEPTEMBER
How wise the church
Calendaring a new year now
Shifts of wind from the north
A first fall taste arrived.
The slanting sun
Eases through the leaves
Lighting small places inside
That were all summer hidden
The moon angles
Beams come in the room
Mysteries of night revealed
Reclothed in light.
Crickets start their murmur
A melancholy chorus
Appropriate noise on nights
When warmth and growth are slowed.
Generous flowers
Still mimic fullness of summer
A vagrant imitation spring
Releases scent of earth.
I eat the summer's warmth
Regretting that each bite
Is step towards time
When growth is stopped.
Words slow ripening
Try to make sense
Of life long observed
Restarting each September.
SEEING
look hard
scrape off
false images
contrast reality
this is our life
wishing for else
erects
dishonesty
the world
is what we see
take it rejoice
it is not cliché
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Advertisement
Ice cream is not simple
It carries the burden of memory.
Places, people, that should disappear
Float back on waves of sweetness.
BLANDING’S: RUM RAISIN
A movie set drugstore with a marble fountain
At age 8 I would walk from home alone
Money in my pocket approach the bar
And order. I was an adult.
GIBSON’S: PEANUT BRICKLE
She in her school uniform
Obviously as enthused as I, a date.
We shared a confection hoping it led
To excitement beyond our youth.
BAILEYS: COFFEE FUDGE
Both married it seemed innocuous
To meet at an ice cream parlor.
For two there is no place for innocence.
We proved that as closeness grew.
ICE CREAM CLUB: MANGO PEACH
The heavy sun spoke of foreign countries,
Her southern accented speech exotic,
We ate childish food saying we were both adults
It was more than ice cream harmony.
SEPTEMBER
How wise the church
Calendaring a new year now
Shifts of wind from the north
A first fall taste arrived.
The slanting sun
Eases through the leaves
Lighting small places inside
That were all summer hidden
The moon angles
Beams come in the room
Mysteries of night revealed
Reclothed in light.
Crickets start their murmur
A melancholy chorus
Appropriate noise on nights
When warmth and growth are slowed.
Generous flowers
Still mimic fullness of summer
A vagrant imitation spring
Releases scent of earth.
I eat the summer's warmth
Regretting that each bite
Is step towards time
When growth is stopped.
Words slow ripening
Try to make sense
Of life long observed
Restarting each September.
SEEING
look hard
scrape off
false images
contrast reality
this is our life
wishing for else
erects
dishonesty
the world
is what we see
take it rejoice
it is not cliché
Biographical Note:
Joe Quinton settled in Chester County after various stops around the United States. He began writing poetry from a desire to make sense of the varied lives he has lead in his eight decades. His poetry is both autobiographical and forward looking. Joe is a
regular contributor to Creek
Road Gang.
See also the Author
Index
for
Poetry and Author Index for Prose L-Z to find more of his work.
