ONE LAST TIME....THE RED BRICKS OF MAIN STREET

"ONE LAST TIME...."

THE RED BRICKS OF MAIN STREET
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O, I've never been to London or Paris
     Elephant. Island, or Tierra del Fuego--

Nor have I visited Shackleton's grave
      on S. Georgia Island, or seen
the Galapagos Islands....

I've never been to Cabo San Lucas, or
      seen the piranhas play in the
Amazon River.... or been to

Fiji, Tahiti, Guadalcanal, Espiritu Santo,
     Christchurch, Sydney, Alice Springs,
or Perth.

Unknown to me are Krakatoa, Corregidor,
     Bataan, and Leyte Gulf...

As well as the. Strait of Malacca, Singapore,
      Iwo Jima, and Okinawa....

The cool climes have also been a mystery---
     Sitka, Reykjavik, King's  Bay, Oslo,
and Ystad---

It is a bit late in life to aspire to be---
     A WORLD TRAVELER.

But there is one more trip, I must make.

I want to GO HOME to Clovis....
     and breathe that fine air...
Drink that delicious water....
     Hear the trains at night. clinking and
clanging, and Choo-Choo-ing,
     and releasing the spewing steam...
as they did in the forties....

I want to drive by where our La Casita stood...
     Go by 1100 Reid, (our nice new WWII house),
and by Bob's at 1020 Thornton... and on
     up toward where Todd's house stood
at the corner of Thornton and Fourteenth...

I want to head west on Fourteenth, down
      to the old dry lake bed, where we
played and gathered used tires and scrap
      iron to help win the war.

Then back toward town on W. Grand, and
     pass where our  Magic Steam
Laundry stood at 417, where so many
     US soldiers got the cleanest uniforms,
and looked sharp....

On by Jake's OK Rubber Welders, a true
      landmark, along with the Country Store...

Oh, I mustn't bore you young 'uns who
     weren't there and missed some great,
but tumultuous times----

I'll drive all over town, even thru the
     underpass which was half-full
of water in 1941....

I will park in front of Woolworth's and
     get Bobby Joe to walk Main Street
with me---I'll make it, with my cane...

We'll linger in front of Barry Hardware,
     and maybe set a spell on the curb,
in front of our old favorite ---Lyceum Theater...

Then I'll get into my pickup and drive up
     and down Main Street, thinking
of past times, and those classmates
     who are departed....and won't be

dragging again...

And to my heart's content, I'll drag
     up and down Main Street, over
and over...

Passing over those beloved red bricks...
     one last time.
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MILS PLACE
BY MIL
6/17/15