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Who can resist an empty swing,
especially the kind hung from a tree?
I glance around. No one’s in view.
I slide on, grab hold of the ropes,
lean back, kick my legs out straight,
then back,
again and again,
till they scrape the sky.
I tilt my head back,
see the blue and light filtering through
the pine that was a shoot
no bigger than my daughter’s hand
the day she brought it home from school.
For a bit I forget, I’m sixty-something.
I’m six.
© by Angela Hoffman.
Used with the author’s permission.
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Angela Hoffman has lived her entire life in rural Wisconsin. The pandemic and her retirement coincided, making the ground ripe for writing poetry. Angela committed to writing a poem a day during the pandemic, never realizing she would be doing so for more than two years. Her first book, Resurrection Lily, was just released and a second, OllyOllyOxen Free, is forthcoming in 2023. In addition to writing, Angela enjoys yoga, reading, painting, hiking, and searching for treasures at second-hand stores. Learn more about her at https://www.facebook.com/angelahoffmanpoet.
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Jo:
Enjoyed your poem, Angela. I never pass up a swing.
Posted 10/07/2022 10:47 PM
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Anastasia:
We all need time to play, no matter our age!
Posted 10/07/2022 12:50 PM
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Lori Levy:
Great line about how your legs "scrape the sky" and how the passage of time is shown by the pine tree that was only a "shoot" when your daughter brought it home.
Posted 10/07/2022 12:44 PM
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Sharon Waller Knutson:
I like the twist at the end of this poem. The reader thinks this is a poem about childhood and it turns out to be an aging poem. I love mystery and surprise in poetry and poems that aren't what they seem.
Posted 10/07/2022 12:32 PM
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CamilleBalla:
I glance around. No ones in view. Good to let the kid out.
Posted 10/07/2022 11:27 AM
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Jancan:
Yes! Sometimes it's wonderful to be six again--if only for a moment. This one made me smile.
Posted 10/07/2022 09:52 AM
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Michael:
I like the cliche,"Age is just a number and mine is unlisted"! Feel that in this poem.
Posted 10/07/2022 09:10 AM
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Wilda Morris:
I can identify with this! Ever so often, I get on the swing at the nearby elementary school and relive my childhood, too.
Posted 10/07/2022 09:00 AM
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cork:
Thank you for the ride into my past.
Posted 10/07/2022 08:53 AM
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Larry Schug:
Our young selves remain always. All we have to do is open the door and let them out to play
Posted 10/07/2022 08:06 AM
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Cristina Norcross:
Oh, I loved this, Angela! (And I love swings, too. Any chance I get, I stop and go on a swing at 50-something).
Posted 10/07/2022 07:49 AM
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paula:
I still love to swing!
Posted 10/07/2022 05:04 AM
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