Adelaide B. Shaw

In the Heat of the Day

The wagon is of rough wood and gives splinters. On hot summer days my sister and I pester Grandpa to ride in it when he goes to the corner ice house. We winge and whine and sometimes he gives in. After the ice is loaded, he chips off pieces for us to suck on as we walk home, cold, wet and slippery, quenching our thirst, cooling our sweaty bodies as it drips down our chins, our chests and down our arms.

so much depends
upon
 
a faded red
wagon
 
loaded with ice
blocks
 
for the icebox
back home

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Note: With appreciation to William Carlos Williams and “The Red Wheelbarrow.”

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About the Author

Adelaide B. Shaw lives in Somers, New York.  She has been creating Japanese poetic forms for over fifty years. Her book An Unknown Road won third place in the 2009 HSA Merit Book Awards. It and her other books—Travel Souveniers, The Distance I’ve Come, and Ancient History—are available on Cyberwit and Amazon. http://www.adelaide-whitepetals.blogspot.com.

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