Wall-to-Wall and Treetop-Tall
In your mother’s room, the dresser holds all
kind of treasures: a porcelain jar of baby teeth,
the tarnished brass container laden with coins–
(you pocket a handful whenever you can,
larceneous child)–the computer sat on a corner
before it got its own desk, the Gateway
your gateway to the universe.
For hours, you chat faceless with other folks,
each of you an astronaut of sorts, reaching out
to each other across the miles, much like how
your great-aunt used her CB radio in the ’70s.
Imagine waiting in the static for so long, waiting
for that voice to come find you, clear as morning,
for that voice to say, “I, too, am here.”
13 thoughts on "Wall-to-Wall and Treetop-Tall"
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CB radios were the bomb. Communication is a handle. What’s yours?
I can’t remember much about the handles my family members had. One was a “Red Something” and another was a “Something Duck,” and they’d stopped using them except to hear the police band
If I had one now, I’d totally use “High Lonesome” or “Happy Hermit” 😅
I love the stance of this poem. The final verse is fantastic.
the slow reveal, the descriptive title, the reach of reaching out, Shawn your poem(s) are wall-to wall exquisite
I do so love your imagery. I recall the heyday of CB usage and then the early days of AOL, dial up, and chat rooms. Great poem!
i like how ‘the gateway’ here feels like a secret/private place..
albeit out in the open..
love your choice of the sonnet field here
love ending
Shaun – another beautifully-crafted creation! The listing works well to get us into the poem (love larcenous child)–but then you wrap us in your spell of words to finish us off! Great use of CBs and astronauts to exemplify the distance created.
Powerful ending:
Imagine waiting in the static for so long, waiting
for that voice to come find you, clear as morning,
for that voice to say, “I, too, am here.”
Love the early treasures on the dresser, the jar of baby teeth, especially. Another poem might explore the mother — I get a sense of her in these early lines.
I love the nostalgia in this, and regret discarding my babies teeth
Love the spotlight on feelings of connection, present and past, and that “Gateway” – ours is still going strong! Excellent as ever Shaun, thanks!