Saturday, November 9, 2013

where our childhood toys are




our toys don't live here
in this room labelled Fragile!
they are fence sitting, feet dangling 

perched on an empty can,
waiting for a stone's aim

they are crouching behind
shrubs & trees & empty boxes
rubber band ready, stretched to 

paper target, faking death on whim

they are hiding under beds,
behind cabinets, above the kite tails,

ready to seek shrill
You are It !

throw dice to lose a point
or advance a number on checkered board
loosely scattered like marbles

colored sun, sunflowers bursting -

toys snake up & down
in ladders until everyone gets 100 or heaven  
is where we all play

princess with long blanket hair &
soldiers with plastic swords -

shake one hand fast:     

paper, stone or scissor?
sometimes they're wood & sky
mostly scrabbled dirty 
of ice cream & biscuits

these toys
are not for sale     
for they're the chicken soup 

of our childhood days-  

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub- Childhood Games & Toys

Picture credit:   here

32 comments:

  1. This was a nice collection.. I get a little uneasy by some of those memories.. reminds of loosing and left out of the games... but somehow that's part of growing up I assume...

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    1. We are five in the family, so I had ready made playmates ~ If you include cousins, well you have a team ~ Thanks Bjorn ~

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  2. I tend to hold on to memories like this...you brought them out games I had stored away in the trunk marked childhood....

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    1. That's a lovely label to keep ~ Thanks Robert ~

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  3. ah that brought back some memories... the toys are the chicken soup of our childhood days...i like... and often all we needed was a ball... it doesn't need much to make a bunch of kids happy..smiles

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    1. Yes a ball and a nice summery afternoon ~ Thanks Claudia ~

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  4. I loved the way you made toys out of what you had around. I remember such things as throwing stones at cans, etc. too. And we never tired of rock, paper, scissors....and hide and seek was one of our usual evening games, right before it became totally dark. Your words tweak my memories, Grace.

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  5. You weaves numerous games I played too into your poem Grace, including those which involved no or very little equipment. And I also had siblings to play with.

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  6. I liked the way you made the toys the medine that kept your soul well. >KB

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  7. Grace, congrats on rocking/socking the prompt as you hopscotched us back to our childhoods, holding hands in a daisy chain, with you as Mother Nature/Hubbard guide; lovely, sweet, nostalgic; thanks.

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  8. oh Grace now you talk about toys (I love them) the other day I was thinking in all these toys we still have of our twins (they have 19) but I have the Esperanza barbies, the barbie's houses, Ditto matchbox and others, dinosaurios,Star Wars toys, etc. aah! I thinks was lovely this time when they playes with them, xo

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  9. fragile toys are an oxymoron, I think :) ~

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  10. these toys are not for sale...most def...the greatest toy ever was our imaginations and what we could come up with out of what little we had...rocks and sticks made for great toys...lots of tag in the woods and after dark...ooo that was so fun...smiles.

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  11. My mother saved our barbies for us. Let's just say that they were well-loved and not worth as much as she'd hoped (yet more than anything, of course).

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  12. What wonderful memories. You depict your childhood in sunflower hue. Thank you for making my smile!

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  13. The cat could imagine much and use anything as a toy, plus some were good to annoy, oh the joy

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  14. Not For Sale! Chicken soup! How right you are. I love the rhythm of this poem and the remembered busy fun.

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  15. thank you Grace for taking me back to snakes and ladders which I had forgotten about, to our imagination that was so precious. This made me smile x

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  16. This compilation brought back memories... yes, the chicken soup nourishment of our childhood.

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  17. The best toys were the ones that we made out of what we had available weren't they? I loved this :)

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  18. Wonderful memories. Ah yes, snakes and ladders, the rough and tumble of life in a game:)

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  19. This brings me back ... Well done Grace!

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  20. I have been thinking of my childhood lately Grace. I don't really remembering having one like this. I wasn't overly abused but it just wasn't like this. Mostly i remember a certain solitude and staying out of other peoples way.

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  21. Wow wow! What a lovely montage to childhood games. :-)

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  22. i love that the toys are played with and NOT for sale, just as the memories of happy times in childhood are precious.

    this is a wonderful response to the prompt, Grace!

    d

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  23. A great poem, I love it. :) Have a great weekend , Grace.

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