Man in the Moon

Photo by Zurijeta/Shutterstock.com

April 16, 2018

Prompt:  write a poem about play or sports.

That summer when we were still young enough

To revel in monotony,

All the kids in the neighborhood

Would gather in the evenings

At the base of an enormous cottonwood tree

And play our favorite game.

“Man in the Moon

Come join me soon.”

“It” would bellow these words

And the mad dash would begin

Across the expanse of the lawn

To the safety of a base on the other side

To live for another round

Or be caught and become a captor.

Round after round we would play

With cottonwood seeds falling like snow

On the lush green grass, 

With the smells of horses and hay

Wafting to us with their pungent yet pleasant odors.

Lightning bugs flashed and cicadas chirped

As we played into the dark

Till we were damp with dew.

Sweaty, smelly, exhausted,

We answered our parents’ calls

For baths and bed

And dreams of the Man in the Moon.

 *********

Man on the Moon

Come join me soon.

If you wear red

Forge ahead.

If you wear blue

Jump like a gnu.

If you wear green

Prance like a queen.

If you wear pink

Slither like a skink.

If you wear yellow 

Jiggle like jello.

If you wear black

Run like a yak.

If you wear brown

Cartwheel like a clown.

If you wear orange

Fly like a dorange.

(Yes, I made up that last one

‘Cause rhyming orange can’t be done.)