Poetry   

 

SOUTHERN PORCH AS SYMBOL

By Mal G. King

 

The Southern porch:

web site

of a softer time

and a gentler pace

of open hearts

and story hour

of mint-scented tea

and smiling melons

of tall tales while children listen on pallets

and lightning bugs blind their enemies with tiny bursts of flame

of stories of quieter and harder times

and homemade ice cream tingling the tongue

of  cotton fields and bumpy country roads

and lullabies in the night and summer melting into perfume

of forgettable two-hour sermons

and unforgettable songs

of tree houses high in the Tarzan Woods

and swamp oak near the brook

of  a refreshing swim in Sugar Creek

and robins all around.

 

The Southern Porch

midwife

to

stories

and

fellowship

and

laughter

and

human warmth

and

tradition

and

history

and

kinfolk

and

common union

and

communion

and

God.

 

 

The Southern Porch

as half-way house

half-in (part of the house)

half-out (part of the outdoors)

half-truth

half-fiction

half-mystery

half-romance

half-musical

All magic.

 

The Southern Porch

Not a paltry-story hour

But a story-filled life.

God, I miss it!