One of our new pastimes at the school house is to run through farmer Steed's corn fields. BL is a natural at it - he cruises easily between the stalks and under the face-whacking foliage. He's far too young to have seen Children of the Corn, so he isn't as frightened in the corn field as his MH.
Childhood, and the "images" thereof, are simply awesome. This reminds me of Robert Penn Warren's poem called "American Portrait: Old Style":
ReplyDelete"And in the full tide of summer, not ready
For the twelve-gauge yet, or even a job, so what
Can you do but pick up your BBs and Benjamin,
Stick corn pone in pocket, and head out
To Rally in the Cane-Brake and Shoot the Buffalo…"
and later:
"In the summer's heat of Time, and in that last summer
I was almost ready to learn
What imagination is--it is only
The lie we must learn to live by, if ever
We mean to live at all…"
If we can teach that, then I think we've done a decent job.
Beautifully stated. I found the poem, it's a great read.
ReplyDeleteHope to have BL ready for the twelve-gauge before long.
Paul