When I have a poem published somewhere, I like to repost it here after the rights revert back to me so you guys can read it easily. That’s the case today. “Country Born” is a little free verse poem that Dos Gatos Press published in their 2013 Texas Poetry Calendar. I love this calendar; I buy one every year, regardless of whether or not I have a poem in it. It’s a by-the-week setup, so I’m guaranteed to read at least one new poem every week, which is just wonderful. This year my poem was next to March 24th. I hope you enjoy!
Country Born
I want my kids to grow up in the country,
barefoot and shirtless with twigs in their hair.
I want them to catch frogs in rain ponds by culverts –
to learn to let them go before they come back home.
I want them to feel the smooth cordage of a horse’s neck
stretching between fence wires for the eternally greener.
I want them to know that the bump and crunch of a gravel driveway
will always mean home.
I want my kids to grow up in the country,
where deeper roots mean taller trees.
© Annie Neugebauer, 2012
All rights reserved.
I love this… especially the last line. Very cool!
Thank you Julia!
Beautiful poem, Annie and elegant in its simplicity.
Aw, thanks Rich!
Lovely!!!
Thank you!
This is wonderful (says the country girl who grew up playing with tree frogs and salamanders). Thanks so much for sharing with us!
Oh me too, Melissa! I loved frogs; the smaller the better. (I thought the little ones were cute.) And thank you!
Lovely, Annie!
Thanks!
I grew up like this. My parents bought a house on the very edge of town and as I grew the town grew so that I lived in the “country” as a child and in town by the time I was a teen. The best of both worlds at each of those ages. My mother had a similar experience. Though in her case she lived on a farm until she was 12 and then her family moved to town. She thought that was the perfect combination as well. Wonderful poem.
Thanks Regina. I had almost the opposite experience. I grew up in a regular old neighborhood until we moved. I think I was pre-teen, maybe 5th or 6th grade. We weren’t in true-blue country with a ranch or anything like that, but we did have woods and gullies and gravel drives, no streetlights or fences unless certain lots had horses on them. It was a wonderful place to spread my wings. =)
Love this. Sharing.
Thanks j!
This poem moved me–seriously choked me up. Could be that it crystallizes my own dreams of where and how I want to live. Beautiful.
Oh, I love to hear that! Thank you so much, Ashley!
I agree with Julia. That last line really resonates. Thanks for sharing, Annie!
Thanks Nina!
I grew up in the suburbs and currently live in a city, but someday I hope to end up in the country. I’d love for my kids to grow up in the country too.
Thanks for sharing!
I would too, obviously, but the truth is this poem is at least a little bit idealized. As long as kids have a place where they can go outside and catch lizards or study ant piles (which includes most suburban back yards), I think they’ll be okay. 🙂