Childhood Literary Visions (A Poem)

By Joyce Jacobo

[Author’s Note: In tribute to childhood stories everywhere.]

Within the hallowed pages      of certain curious volumes

       childhood visions are always at play

            like lullabies that echo in the mind long

                  after the lights have given way

                                    to darkened         starry restfulness

They call to mind stories told at bedsides

                           by an older generation

                or discovered in similar ways

       then claimed           and practiced

                   as youthful days

              skip along

                          much like stones

                                upon a lake surface

                                      deep

                                            in the summertime

Until…              somewhere…

     we become distracted         amid various changes

             and those visions slip away

                         past their book covers as if

                                      behind theater curtains

                               veiled

                                             but still there

                       in the form of fond memories

          . . . such as of sidewalks that end

             . . . stuffed animal friends in peaceful forests

                   . . . narrow escapes from gardens

                                in the company of mischievous rabbits

                       . . . flights to islands

                                      where children can remain children

                                                       forevermore

                            . . . among          many other possibilities

Even years later                    

             their fanciful touches            and lessons

                            can remain in our souls

                   and their inhabitants

                                turn into old friends

                                       remembered

                                          from time to time

Like a quiet promise

        they wait for us          with ceaseless patience

                   to find just a moment      to slip away

                            for a visit

They will say

             “Come on

                             come in

                     dream with us again

                                       for a little while

                              because the fun

                                         is ready to begin”