ONE OF MANY WORLDS ON THE BOYS' PLAYGROUND


It was a pleasant spot,
where the vegetable garden
farm wire fence,
and
the red brick alley wall met,
at the southwest edge
of the Boys'Playground
at St.Vincent's Orphanage.

Here against the wall,
big brother Frank
tended his vegetable patch.

Here boys thrilled
to see the tassels from his corn
rise above the seven foot wall.

Here, in this corner,
boys loved to smoke the corn silk
from his ripened ears.

Here, one day,
Joe Graessle and I
talked about our ancestry,
his Germanic,
mine Italian.

In the playroom,
later in the day,
the nun in charge
had the boys arise,
when the chaplain entered in.

Suddenly,
from my left,
in the silence
as we stood,
I felt a soft silk palm
clasp mine.

At my left,
stood my friend, Joe Graessle.

Deeply touched,
my feelings overflowed.

Such intimacy
I had never known.


(November 21, 2001)