Back then; Next

Once upon a time, sitting on the front porch
with grandpa, as he filled his pipe,
I said: why do you say ''back then,'' so much?
(I was 7 and didn't know any better).

Same reason as your vocabulary is filled with ''nexts.''
Next week, next month, next year, next birthday party...
(I smiled at that)
My back-thens are precious to me,
because they were once nexts.

You have more nexts than back-thens right now,
but there will come a time when this moment,
right here as I fill my pipe and you talk foolishness,
you'll sit with your own little child, saying, Well, back than...

We didn't say anything much else until suppertime;
the scent of pipe tobacco and the symphony
of crickets and birds soothing our hearts,
all the nexts and back-thens lingered
in the soft summer air and that moment
is as clear as a photograph to this very day.





Poetry by William Hughes The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 21 times
Written on 2025-10-26 at 00:31

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Griffonner The PoetBay support member heart!
A really charming poem, with a message. The descriptions were good, and allowed the reader to see the scene in their minds eye. I really liked "the scent of pipe tobacco and the symphony/
of crickets and birds soothing our hearts". Great. Blessings, Allen
2025-10-26


K2000 The PoetBay support member heart!
People are like Beaujolais Nouveau, each year there is a new one, and you forget the last one (Back then)

the beaujolais Nouveau lasts one year, it is a wine that is one year old each year, never more than one year comparing to old Bordeaux where the age counts
2025-10-26