I come from an ocean of afternoons
where the sun hangs
onto the sky
splashing shadows long.
I pedal my bicycle
along the path
racing with the wind,
my hair flying like curly kite ribbons.
I come from this afternoon,
an open endless time
holding onto the handlebars,
then letting go…
Just to test my balance.
Margaret Simon (c) 2018
From PoemCrazy p.64: “Look for a place in a picture that feels like somewhere you’ve come from. Begin to write about where you feel you come from.”
Your words put me right there with you, riding my bike…letting go…
Great poem written from the photo prompt. I felt the breeze blowing my hair when I ride and love the last line of ‘letting go of the handle bars to test balance’. I used to ride ‘free hand’ all the time but I wonder if I could now. I’ll have to test that next time I get on a bike. 🙂
You had my attention at “oceans of afternoons”.❤️
Superb, Margaret! These are my thoughts that tumbled out in words when your poem inspired me this morning: This was the place where I spent many girlhood hours… riding free, often testing my balance. This is the space to which I now seek… still testing my balance, thinking free. xo
Yes. Still testing my balance.
Oh, I love that opening, Margaret, bringing me to my ‘ocean of afternoons’, too. Lovely!
Poem and picture–a perfect pair.
I love the drawing, the poem, and the line: my hair flying like curly kite ribbons!
The opening line is perfect and captures the timelessness of childhood afternoons. And then the letting go….ahhhhh.. What a beautiful poem.
So lovely. “Ocean of afternoons” captures what childhood felt like to me. I like the leap of “letting go.”
Read this yesterday & forgot to comment – but I had to come back because I love the first line so much. Just beautiful. I like the whole poem – I really do – but “ocean of afternoons” – so lovely.
The poem and art work so well together, love the sense of movement and flying in your poem!
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