Playground Heavens

Sometimes
When I sit on my swing set
I remember
The first time I sat on it
When I was eight
Already
Anxious to say nine

And my mom told me to
Get out of the car
And let’s walk home
And I thought
“That’s silly”
Because we were pulling right
Into my driveway almost

I remember when the shrubs
Weren’t in the way anymore
And I saw
That space where there used to be
Only bare, naked grass
And now there was
A swing set
But to me
It looked like more than that

Because I remember
When I used to tie a rope to my tree
And put a pillow
Over it
And swing and throw
Stale crackers to the birds
And they would eat
And chirp
And they were saying
“Thank you! Thank you!”
I remember coming inside with a smile
But a sore bum
After swinging for days
at a time

And then a month or so later when
My family (and I came too)
Started going
To playground stores
Or playground heavens
As I came to know them
And I thought it was so cool
And my mom told me
It was for ideas for
The community
Playground

And I thought those stores
Made especially for playgrounds
Were the coolest things ever
I remember
When my face lit up
And so did my mom’s
When I first saw it
And now when I sit
On the curved seat
My hands gripping rubber

And my toes flick
Specks of dirt
Up, up
Into the air
I think about
All of those swings
And nice memories
And
I smile.