Side by Side (A Poem)

By Joyce Jacobo

[Author’s Note: It’s fun to share stories with others. They become experiences we can enjoy together.]

Two wooden swings tied with ropes

     hang from the branches of an oak tree that

     stands upon a grassy knoll

     beneath skies brushed

     by an orange hue from the sunset

     just above the horizon of the ocean

     far in the distance

    past a seaside town and grand lighthouse

You swing on one seat

              while I rock on the other

       and in this way

                   we are here

          side            by           side

                     together

An old breeze helps to push us

      back            and           forth

          while she tickles the leaves above

                  into a windchime harmony

                         accompanied by a quartet of doves

I want…          to give you this gift of a simple idea

        to make you smile for even a moment

                  which you can pass along

                              in a special way

For when you read this scene quietly

          just to yourself

              …the two of us will swing

                              once again

                         reader and narrator

       but when you read it aloud

              to someone else—

                     a friend

                             or a family member

                 then the two of you

                       can share these swings

                             with you as the narrator

                                   and her or him as the listener

A passage of roles changed

        like turns taken on swings

            opportunities to sail upwards

                                      to scent the salty sea air

                                      to have an experience with others

                                      to be safe

                                       to be free…

          …from one narrator

                               to the next                     

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