Worn porch paint bare
rattan rocking chair
Mount Washington view
men’s dormitory at the Waumbek
mid June
           ( before seasoning
           20
writing        ( reverie
                       mountain hikes)
          Smith Corona portable
          manual
          case on my lap
          waiting
                   *clack clack clack*
                     return (back)
keys slap
the hard rubber platen.

Evenings cool wind
the Presidential Range
            ( skiing snow still
              in Tuckerman’s
              Ravine )
                     (for
                     before her
                     unseen )
nothing to say then
her summer skin    eager breasts
             firelighted thighs
her lips cleaved  by her searching tongue
but
just 17

(19 years
2000 pages
    ( journal later
      manuscript blue black ink  (Parker pen medium nib )  ) )

to know
    ( her soft orgasms
      her muffled  |  murmur )
what her kisses conversation said

another porch
by Winter Spring scuffed
deck planks thin polyurethane
     cushioned seat
       wrought iron
         c  h  a  i  r
rust bleeding through yellow paint
Alleghenies near
Appalachian breeze cool as well
          water sweet water
as thunderstorm rain
        55
        years by    (        )

words                    words                  are
images ( are all the same ).

I pronounce her name
again.

© Ronald Tobey

Ronald Tobey was raised North of Boston, worked for forty-two years before the Mast in Southern California, and retired to a West Virginia hollow to raise cattle, look after his wife’s horses, and write poetry. To contact him and see more of his work visit:

AllPoetry: https://allpoetry.com/InTheWoods