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.