A Long Time Ago
written by: Richard LeDue
@LedueRichard
Looking for a place to play at being heroes,
we found a frozen pond:
bumpy, yet we skated on it
(those of us who couldn’t afford skates,
slid along the ice and our imaginations),
pausing the game whenever one of us
fell hard, and the puck smacking
against wooden blades
(some sticks new, expensive Christmas gifts,
while others, hand-me-downs
from relatives who gave up
on chasing Wayne Gretzky),
shaping our still developing hands
which hadn’t inherited our parents’ calluses yet-
each goal a victory
we’d eventually outgrow,
leaving us to fall
asleep on couches, TV left on all night,
reruns narrating our dreams now,
and hockey sticks given away
(a long time ago).
Richard LeDue (he/him) lives in Norway House, Manitoba, Canada. He has been published both online and in print. He is the author of ten books of poetry. His latest book, “Sometimes, It Isn't Much,” was released from Alien Buddha Press in February 2024.
Latest posts by Richard LeDue (see all)
- The Shape of Things - February 21, 2024
- Years Ago - November 3, 2023
- Broke - August 20, 2023
