Pennypack Park By Frank Diamond

Pennypack Park

Our promise to keep, we make by he old creek
As the waters dance on toward tomorrow
 
We kiss on the bank, our whole future a blank
But your eyes glisten hope I can borrow
 
Your smile drew a spark, back in Pennypack Park
The memories we take still give through the dark
 
We stretch in the shade, while you cradle our babe
As the breeze bows the grass in the meadow
 
She grows through the years, through the laughter and tears
Roots and wings, guts and grit—she won’t stumble
 
The lessons still arc back to Pennypack Park
The memories you take still give through the dark
Still give through the dark
 
The problem with memory
It too often lies
The thing we get right
Often flies
But faith will make real, what facts can’t reveal
Gentle thoughts always lead back to Pennypack Park
 
I stand in the field and your spirit I feel
Gives me strength that I’ll need for my journey
 
You said “be here now” and you showed me just how
But it’s hard to go on, I’m still learning
 
You taught from the start back in Pennypack Park
The lessons you gave still light up the dark
Oh, the lessons you gave will always light up the dark

Frank’s poem, “Labor Day,” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize Award. His short stories have appeared in RavensPerch, Insider, Kola: A Black Literary Magazine, Dialogual, Madras Mag, Reverential Magazine, the Examined Life Journal, Into the Void, Empty Sink Publishing, Zodiac Review and the Fredericksburg Literary & Art Review, among many other publications. He has had poetry published in Philadelphia Stories, Fox Chase Review, Deltona Howl, Artifact Nouveau, Black Bottom Review, and Feile-Festa. He lives in Langhorne, Pa.