It’s Saturday morning at Ronald McDonald’s,
a happy place where a red-haired clown holds sway
and kids find toys in every Happy Meal box.
It’s a happy place where we single fathers bring
our weekend kids to kick off two days of
compressed amusement, recreation and happiness.
My little girl and I sit and talk, between
bites of muffins and sips of hot chocolate,
about school, friends, pets … mommy and home.
I advise, cajole, console, praise and concur.
And if melancholia intrudes, I beat it back
into hiding with jokes and silliness.
“Oh, daddy, you’re so funny.”
When it’s time to go, I noogy her head and we’re off.
There are games to play, movies to see, treats to eat,
and happiness to sustain untll Sunday evening
when I bring her back to her full-time home and I
go back, alone, to mine.
Comments
Thank you, Mark ...
... for your kind words and craft tips. I didn't consciously go for assonance and consonance but will try to include more of those in the future. Sentences strung together without punctuation sort of drives me crazy. Old habits are hard to break. Does the poetic solution for achieving stop-and-pause effects in free verse lie in the line breaks? Is it correct that structures such as iambic pentameter do require more use of punctuation? Thanks again for your helpful advice.
Cheers ... Mike
Alone
A bit sad at the end. Life and society have become highly complex and sophisticated. At times, it is beyond my understanding. It is a lovely poem. Also, touching. I am a novice trying to learn about the poems. So I am not qualified to comment on the structure of the poem. But, I would say I like it. It flows and reads smooth.
Vivovon, Thanks
Appreciate your comments. Perhaps we can learn together.
Mike