The Kite Runner
An Ode to Childhood Memories
I used to chase kites when I was just a child,
soon as they are untethered and fly away wild,
as one of the runners for the neighborhood team
out to find blown kites; hopefully retrieve them,
before runners from the other neighborhoods
recover the kites; or they’re lost in the woods…
We had kite-flying wars when we were children
to occupy us in our little corner, our haven,
on weekend mornings when there’s nothing to do
after chores, except perhaps watch as grass grew…
It was always a team effort to build the kites,
from bamboo sticks, paper and twine; into the nights…
We battle-primed kites; coating the twine with glue
mixed with ground glass from a light bulb or two,
for about a hundred feet, so it could cut the twine
of enemy kites in air maneuvers near the tree line…
I was too little to fly the kites but I got thrills
watching them dart, dip, sail as high as the hills;
but always mindful; ever on edge, for at any minute
a line’s cut, a kite’s lost; off I go to retrieve it!
It matters not if the lost kite is ours or theirs,
for a lot of work went to building kites; so everyone cares!
As the littlest runner, I was proud to be part of a team,
and when I retrieve a kite, for days my eyes are agleam!
02-04-2016
© Vic A Evora...
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