Poet’s Showcase: ‘School Begins in the Country’
Heart beating loudly,
breathing shallow and rapid.
Wheeling down the
packed dirt road as fast
as freckled legs can pedal.
Excitement fills wide eyes
of auburn haired boy.
School is starting!
Anxiety wells as faces
of teachers, friends, neighbors
flash through his mind.
He’s grown several inches
over the summer.
Will he be recognized?
Will he remember his manners?
Many he’s seen at church,
or on those Saturdays he’d
accompanied his parents
into town for weekly shopping.
Often, he preferred to stay at
home to get into mischief.
He finally spies the
yellow school bus.
Dirt puffs along roads
of gravel signaling
it’s coming long before
he hears the rumbling
that drowns out
the sound of his tires
crunching on gravel.
The voice of a meadowlark
blends with the coos of
the morning doves.
School has begun in the country.
— Ronda Miller lives in Lawrence.
Send Poet’s Showcase submissions to jniccum@ljworld.com.