There was a grove,
midway between
the swings
and
the Merry-Go-Round,
where S.V.O. boys
liked to be,
on warm summer days.
Here, around two picnic tables,
in the spreading shade,
boys engaged in friendly give-and-take
or
lazed the day away –
finding empty shells of locusts
at the base of trees
a fascinating thing;
mimicking one another
rolling with a merry laughter;
cracking “Knock Knock” jokes
or
singing army songs
by Irving Berlin;
tossing pop bottle caps
or
metal washers,
trying to make them land in dirt holes
fifteen feet apart.
Often, in the grove,
the air was electrically charged,
with lots of talk
of up and coming boxing matches
between the great Joe Louis
and
such fearsome contenders
as Jack Dempsey
and
Max Schmelling,
or
brawling “Two-Ton Tony” Galinto!
April 15, 2002