Thursday, June 2, 2011

Childhood Summer Memories, Part I

{I have decided to run a recurring theme this summer (not on any specific day) of childhood memories. I hope they are as enjoyable to you as they are to me... love~laurie}

*

Lying on a raft all day, warm
gusts the only break in heat;
fragile glass the lake appears
tranquil against a cloudless
sky. BFFs in matching stripes
bikini straps pulled down for
tans; baby oil, lemon juice,
tinfoil at fingertips. Laughs
and jokes and boys and boys,
the girls are like a boat.
And then when nighttime
does arrive, in bed
they’re still afloat.

@laurie kolp

Prompt inspiration: Poetry Jam- Swimming

15 comments:

Connie Peters said...

Looking forward to reading these. Brings back my own memories.

Mary said...

An enjoyable reminiscence. Seems so strange now, doesn't it, to have used things like baby oil and suntan oil! No one was Vitamin D deficient THEN!

Laurie Kolp said...

Thanks Connie!

Mary- I know... crazy, huh? I would have a fit if my daughter did that. Hmm... she came back red as a lobster after spending a day at the beach with her BFF's family ... I wonder if...? Nah!

Karen said...

This took me back, Laurie. I remember the tinfoil, too!

Dave King said...

It's a theme I find difficult to prevent recurring. Roll on your next, this is a strong start.

Randy Behavior said...

Oh this made me smile so big. I never did the tin foil, but the rest, oh yes!

Helen said...

Oh Laurie! I love this look back in time.

In addition to the baby oil? Iodine! Yes! I have had the skin cancers to prove it.

The Bug said...

As a brunette I was always jealous of the blondes & their lemon juice - I had to use vinegar to lighten my hair. Yuck!

I remember that feeling of still being on the water after a long day. It's a good memory.

Sioux Roslawski said...

This poem was full of nostalgia...thanks for reminding me of the memories.

Enchanted Oak said...

I really reveled in your line breaks and loose punctuation here, and your end line is wonderful. You packed quite a punch in these few lines.

Brian Miller said...

ha. this is a fun romp into memory...used to camp out at the lake...got some great memories there myself...

ok, so whats up with the tin foil?

finally got my jam up

Laurie Kolp said...

Brian- We used to lay out on tin foil towels to "get a better tan"...

Peter Goulding said...

I enjoyed the way thisa was constructed and imagine it was great fun to write too. Sorry, what's a BFF?

Bagman and Butler said...

Brings back wonderful memories of the lake. So almost innocent.

Anonymous said...

How I remember baby oil and lemon juice! Always a brunette, I really hoped the lemon juice would give me blonde streaks ~ nope, had to pay for that one!

I played this week for the first time. Hope you'll stop by: Free Fall.