IN CLEVELAND, in 1965 Emmett restores my faith in all that is good and true by pulling a scooter from the dumpster at school and pronouncing it perfect despite a rusty fender and frayed grey duct tape covering the hand grips. This baby will drift, he assures me, and while I have no idea what a drifting scooter does, to do so is clearly a good thing in the eyes of a newly-rich boy. My brother and I furnished backyard scrap-wood forts from items left on the curbs of Piermont Road every Tuesday, in Cleveland, in 1965. Never a ripped chair more luxurious than in our backyard bunker. Never did boys recline more regally than we did on trash day treasures, in Cleveland, in 1965.
Poem Notes: When my sister Amy read this poem, she reminded me that our mother re-finished a shelf Amy rescued from someone’s trash in Cleveland. My sister kept that shelf until she moved into her first apartment after graduating college. Our forts weren’t haunted, but I sure did read a lot of Hardy Boys books in those days. I checked and Franklin W Dixon is still churching them out . . . he must be 143 years old by now!
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A New Poem on Mondays!
Joseph Neely, all rights reserved
The Occasional Poem 
Thanks for igniting some wonderful childhood flashbacks. “The Haunted Fort” was a favorite of mine too.
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Childhood forts are a magical place! Tom helped my dad build us a tree fort in the dunes that will always be a treasured memory for us.
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I have been enjoying your poems so much. This one reminded me of the fort (of sorts) that we had down by the neighborhood creek, hidden back in the bushes, that I’m pretty sure was decorated with trash pick treasures. So many great memories to revisit. Keep writing!
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How great to hear from you, Sue! Thanks for reading my blog and offering encouragement.
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Your timing is perfect as Peter and his buddies made a fort in the woods by our house with downed limbs (complete with a flag from an old pillowcase I gave them). They would like to cover it with bark but haven’t quite figured that part out yet. Thanks for sharing a poem to capture that moment so wonderfully.
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I was also a fan of The Hardy Boy and even more of Tom Swift. I used to read them under the covers with a flashlight.
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Thanks, Doug
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Wonderful as always Joe, it is a blessing to look forward to a positive, loving story! Love ya!!
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Thanks, Jim. Love you, too!
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