King Harbor Kid by Bob Atkinson

King Harbor Kid

(c)2010 Bob Atkinson

 Seemed way far out 

the green ocean did go

beyond what imagination

could hold for my small soul

wasn't indifferent to the dream

just didn't know

what lay beyond 
the foamy waves

of Redondo Beach's shore

salt water tasted thick

sand between toes

soft surf taking away 

my cares for a time

 

no, it didn't replace in me

the desire for some things

that could be had by others

but that I couldn't keep

was content with what I had

didn't really know

beyond the open borders

someday I would go

there were, I'm sure others

looking toward the water large

out beyond the Sacramento

an old ferry fishing barge

the land called home

was where I stood that day

if tomorrow I did leave it

no homage would I pay
wouldn't miss or grieve it

was too shy back then

to ask aloud

the meaning of life
what was it all about

so I stayed contented

in my mind

enjoyed every day

spent on the waters edge
feet wet from the waves

it did scare me some

the depths and sharks

sinking down to the bottom

to be stripped of life right then
 drown in the salty brine
or
come to some other end

you know it was a tranquil time

how adventure attracted me

to those golden shores

and that sandy beach

when they came 

and laid the rocks

for the new harbor's edge

left caves and caverns

my small body could get in

was just a child of ten

bus would bring me there

for a fare of ten cents

a penny for each year

that a child of ten

would travel so far alone

in today's times

would be unknown

 

my own child I worried about

when he was well past grown

didn't leave the nest

until thirty years old

but there in my younger years

before my early teens

my heart gave my brain a rest

and called home the water green

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