…and has been for the last 28 years as I never go down unless I’m beckoned, lately to turn off lights left on by grandkids or check for an un-flushed toilet before I leave town but usually, there’s not much that gets me down there. Not sure why….I just don’t like basements but I love my basement…not for me but for what it’s done for me through the years….so here’s to you, basement o’ mine; my ode to you.You’ve been there for me through the years….which is more than I can say for me.
I’ve neglected you, left you for months without even a peek inside to see how you are,
but you never complain, only call out for more.
“Bring on the kids” you would say on a hot summer day.
You would let them romp and play,
rough-house and mess you up and bang you around putting holes in your walls
and breaking your lights, probably with some kind of ball.
You’ve seen so much through these last 28 years.
I wish I’d been a fly on your wall many of those hours that the kids would play.
You could tell me tales some of which I probably don’t want to hear
but you are loyal to the children and don’t divulge their secrets.
“What happens in the basement, stays in the basement.”
I can see the destruction but will never know the real truth.
Were they playing “Basement Ball”, “Steal the Pillows” or “Flashlight in the Dark”?
I guess I’ll never know whence came that hole.
You kept them safe, for the most part.
I’m surprised there weren’t more casualties from the rough-housing that went on.
You’ve seen it all, haven’t you basement o’ mine?
You’ve been the backdrop for many a home-made video,
dance recital, dress-up session/fashion show, seminary video, school project;
a haven from the world with your dark t.v. room
closed off with the old Dixie High School theatre curtains.
Now another generation;
still the same old dress-ups and Barbie dolls; same holes and uncovered neons.
You still welcome the little ones.
You’re trying to teach them to play but it’s just not the same.
They are frightened of you….they don’t like your shadows.
They will learn that you are their friend and you’ll let a kid be a kid.
I’ll show them where the lights are and keep trying to convince them
that you are a safe place to be.
They’ll come around, but for now,
thanks for raising my kids and giving them memories of a childhood retreat,
free from adult scrutiny and intervention, a soft place to land in a cold, cruel world.
Though I don’t visit you much, I know you’re there for me.
I won’t make any promises of more frequent visits
but I will keep your toilet flushed and provide you with grandkids to come down and play.
Ode – A lyric poem often in the form of an elaborate address and usually characterized by loftiness of tone, feeling and style. (I tried to make this look like a poem. I’m no English major here.)
6 comments:
That is a fantastic basement. I still remember painting it with Dad and bros - and blondie. I even remember when the 2x4 board fell on blondie's head and she started bleeding out her nose. I remember getting busted for throwing darts into the wall. I've had the most bedrooms including the food-storage room and under the stairs. The basement was the birth-place of the Buff-Club. The notorious "3 stomps" on the floor took some learning - if it followed a ringing phone, then the phone was for you - if it didn't, it just meant come upstairs. There's more - but I won't elaborate more...except "the star game!"
we cant for get the star game! Its like the best game we ever created and needs to be recreated. Where is that glow bear, or the glow ball? Dont for get jumbing on matrices and over matrices and running into matrices, and so much more that i wont elaborate, because i took an oath never to reveal some of the things that went on down there. Only the home girls know what Im talking about.
So many good memories come to mind when I think of your basement. I agree with Lauri though about the best game ever created, the star game. Good times!
You really are a writer! I love the pictures you paint with words and if those basement walls could talk...oh, the happy stories they would tell. I'm glad you've shared your basement with so many friends. Diana
I love your blog mom. It does always bring me back and I love going back, not that I would want to literally but it's good to remember and to want the same type of things for my own kids. I love that picture cause we really did rock at "using" that basement. Don't forget Tiffany and I's open house to display our collection of collections, our barbie towns, our art projects and Yes I ditto all that has been said about the star game. I also ditto what Lauri said about the oath of secrecy between the home girls. "what happens in the basement stays in the basement" and thanks basement for keeping our secrets safe!
I say we need a rematch of the STAR GAME!!! Ah, that basement is definitely oozing with memories...it was our imaginary playground.
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