city park

Carpe Diem #1255 City Park



City Park (photo by Chèvrefeuille)
Fall weather and the thoughts of city parks take me back to the years of my childhood and youth.  Every year for many decades my father's extended family gathered for the Rogers' reunion.  The concrete picnic tables of Finch Park would be ladened with all the wonderful fresh garden foods of the rural families.  Fresh blackeyed peas and fried okra, platters of sliced tomatoes, home made pickles and relishes brimmed over the edges of the dishes.  Some of the women had killed chickens the day before and so the fried chicken was better than anything I taste today.  Pies, cakes and cookies were on the dessert tables.  The old 20 gallon coolers used to hold water in the cotton fields were filled with tea and lemonade cooled by the blocks of ice from the ice store.  These foods were eaten with the plates, flatware and glasses brought from home.

September in Texas was still hot and dusty as the usual fall rains would not arrive till in October.  Playing with cousins on the swings, slides and merry go rounds was such great fun.  Being a bit of a tomboy I worried little about sliding 'like a little lady' even though I would be attired in a newly made dress for the occasion.  The reunion would end in time for the farmers to go home, milk the cows and attend evening church services.
crinolines
covered
in dusty fun

sleepy eyes droop
to the pastor's voice


©  petra domina

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

1962 one of the last of the Rogers' reunions.  Kids could wear shorts by now.

Comments

  1. humbirdSeptember 13, 2017 at 9:18 PM

    Ah, I like this story, your haibun inspired by the memory of reunions. Nice tanka.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JaniceSeptember 14, 2017 at 12:15 AM

      Glad you enjoyed and hope it brought back good memories.

      Delete
  2. Kim M. RussellSeptember 14, 2017 at 1:32 AM

    I love an autobiographical haibun with a bit of history, especially in what is for me a faraway place!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JaniceSeptember 14, 2017 at 1:10 PM

      So pleased you enjoyed my bit of memory. It was time before concrete consumed so many of the beautiful, fertile farms.

      Delete
  3. Pat RSeptember 14, 2017 at 4:15 AM

    A lovely walk down memory lane. I really enjoyed this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JaniceSeptember 14, 2017 at 1:11 PM

      So glad you came along for the walk. It makes it more pleasurable even for me.

      Delete
  4. forestbatherSeptember 14, 2017 at 6:44 AM

    You are at your endearing best when you dwelve into haibun. Fits you like a glove somehow and is eminently readable. I really took part in this, with all senses, and it has a lingering effect like good tea, coffee, or rum.

    Interesting about shorts - in Scotland it was the reverse, and my uncle was frequently sent home for wearing long trousers to school in the snow, and told to wear shorts...only the Scots are capable of such logic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JaniceSeptember 14, 2017 at 1:20 PM

      The shorts made me laugh. I would love to visit Scotland. My familial roots supposedly trace to Scotch Irish homelands.

      I enjoy sharing the little bits of memories from the times of my youth. I certainly do not want to go back to the hate and discrimination of those times though at times it appears about 35% of my nation does. Thank you, again, for your encouraging words.

      Delete
  5. ChèvrefeuilleSeptember 14, 2017 at 1:23 PM

    I love those sweet memories ... your haibun is really beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yamini MacLeanSeptember 14, 2017 at 3:03 PM

    Hari OM
    Fondness! Love the bloggy makeover too.... YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. JaniceSeptember 14, 2017 at 7:45 PM

    Well, it felt like time for some fall colors. Namaste, Janice xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nicole PottierSeptember 17, 2017 at 9:35 AM

    Nice memory, nice life, nice family. I really enjoyed your tanka prose. Thanks for sharing it with us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JaniceSeptember 17, 2017 at 3:34 PM

      It was a nice life. Not perfect but mostly good. Glad you liked the tanka.

      Delete
  9. Milan RajkumarSeptember 17, 2017 at 10:39 AM

    this is a classic haibun ! the old stories of cotton fields lingers like a ghost !it's going to be a part of history !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JaniceSeptember 17, 2017 at 3:35 PM

      Yes, they do. There are still a few cotton fields in the area. Thanks for stopping by and commentins.

      Delete

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