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I remember the tree that stood only yards away from my grandmother’s front yard when I was a child. I called it ‘the berry tree’. I’ve since learned the berries I loved to pick and eat where I stood were actually mulberries.

I’ve been wanting to do a history book relating to the section of town where my fondest memories of childhood exist. The street where I grew up is no longer considered a street. Trees on the hillside have grown where the houses use to stand. The street is currently blocked off with concrete barriers. Its name is only referenced on historical maps of the city.

I came across an online forum where people were commenting on various city streets’ history. The area where my grandmother’s house stood was mentioned. The consensus was that it was a forgotten street and houses probably never stood on the street. The comments had to be from people too young to remember or ones that didn’t research. I had to set the record straight, of course. I commented that people did live on the street. Cars actually drove up and down the street that served as a connection to a busy avenue. The huge sinkhole or “cave-in” as we called it back then, closed the street off to thru traffic. That event was the beginning of the end. However, people lived on the street on the street for another twenty-five years or so after the cave-in.

At some point, I’m going to dig through old pictures I took as a child/teenager who loved cameras. I hope to find snapshots that show the house and street that’s forgotten. Most adults that lived on the street at the time are long gone from this earth. If the pictures can’t be found, I have my memories which are still clear enough to tell the story.

2018 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 13

Today’s prompt (see link above) was for a quiet or loud poem. Here’s my free verse:

“Quiet warmth”

The humming of our heater

is loud serving as music

to my ears as I sit in

beautiful silence letting

the humming and warmth carry

me back to the days of cold

and cuddling against my

siblings as we wore winter

coats day and night. My pillow

now is warm and my comforter

as soft as cotton balls. Oh,

I wish I could transport some

warmth and blankets back to

those children shivering in

their beds as a mother cried

silently in the coldest room.

I want to tell the children

they won’t always be cold.

Resounding heater humming

and soft blankets are the truth.

copyright 2018 R. H. Dorsey

It’s been a rough time lately hearing and seeing reports of violence in the world, this country, and my hometown. I’m participating in the Writer’s Digest 2018 November PAD Chapbook Challenge every day this month.

See: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2018-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-9  for details on the challenge.

My poem for today is shared below:

“Burn Slow”

Shooters shoot aimlessly

as victims die without

reason leaving survivors

lives blown to shreds

of what once was hope

and promise of long and

natural life. Numbness

becomes a safe harbor

for our psyches to cope

and shield us from

feeling what would surely

cause our minds to

realize the last days

of existence have been

fueled and set long ago.

We helplessly watch the

unfolding of events as if

we didn’t know all along

that we are in the midst

of a slow burn of devastation.

©2018 R. H. Dorsey

If you’re a U. S. citizen, are you ready to vote tomorrow? We’ve heard for some time now this election is the most important election in a long while. Some have gone so far as to say the election on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, is the election of our lifetime. I’m not sure about that previous statement, but with the political climate today the election tomorrow is super important. One thing I’m certain of is that my household has a personal commitment to be at the polls casting our votes.

I’m dating myself by saying I voted in the 1980 election, but it’s true. It was the most exciting thing I’d done in my life to that point. I felt like a full-fledged adult and had my driver’s license and voter’s registration to prove it.  The election of November 1980 was a Presidential election and I took it very seriously. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of those my age who lost their youthful excitement about voting would just vote their conscious and see what happens? I mean, to just throw your vote out and hope for the best? In the end, that’s all we can do – our best.

We can argue that voters are adults with minds of their own and shouldn’t have to be convinced to vote. After all, the laws and policies that govern our lives in the United States are directly affected by the voting public. Sounds simple, right? You’d be surprised at the rhetoric of people that don’t vote. My frustration with the non-voter no matter the party affiliation runs deep. There are older members of my family that have experiences in the past of being stopped at the polls for trying to cast their vote. Knowing family members or anyone that fought for the right to vote were denied is the absolute reason I exercise that right. I believe in my country and our system of democracy (too preachy, oh well). While our Constitution gives us the ‘right’ to vote, there are always debates on whether voting is a privilege. Personally, I’m hoping to never see the day where citizens are given a ‘privilege’ to vote. What would be the criteria to grant one a privilege to vote? The prospect would seem too subjective and unfair in my opinion.

Finally, I’m noticing most people talking about voting lately in a way I haven’t heard in a long while. People are mouthing the words “no matter what your party affiliation get out and vote.” That’s new, in the past one mostly heard be sure to vote “this party” or “that party” period. It’s easy to notice the desperation and seriousness voters in this country have about this election. The fact for the apathetic non-voter is no matter your feelings about the political party leading the House or Senate, the policies trickle down to your interests on a state and local level. I’m hoping everyone in this country eligible to vote goes to the polls tomorrow. Or, if you’ve already voted in early voting or by absentee ballot – great!