My Life in Orbit, Poetry by Ken W. Simpson

Genre: Family, Nostalgia, Life, Society

My Life in Orbit
by Ken W. Simpson

21 Turner Street

Our first house
a bungalow
was on the corner
of Turner Street
and Park Road
with roses in the front
and a withered vine
beside the back fence.

I remember kindergarten
at an old church hall
my first day at primary school
then the year at home
so my younger brother
with a stranger’s personality
could be company
marching to the rhythmic rattle
of kettle drums
playing cherry bobs
and family holidays by the sea.

Bickeigh Vale

Four poplars, evenly spaced
stood like sentinels
outside our place
bisected by a gravel drive
flanked by lawns
and a pomegranate tree.

Wild blackberries behind
sloped to a wilderness below
with a chicken shed
converted into a clubhouse
where we gazed at girlie pics
and compared erections.

We were the side-effects
of Pop’s success
passengers on his…