At the Playground

Ben, June 2012

At the Playground

Away down deep and away up high,

a swing drops you into the sky.

Back, it draws you away down deep,

forth, it flings you in a sweep

all the way to the stars and back

-- Goodby, Jill; Goodby, Jack:

shuddering climb wild and steep,

away up high, away down deep.

~ William Stafford

Every time I read this poem, I smile.  I've always loved to swing, and even as an adult, I still can't resist hopping on an empty swing whenever I spy one.  I like how this poem describes the feeling of swinging, "away down deep and away up high". 

When I was little, I would spend all of my recesses on the swings, if I could.  (If there weren't other kids waiting for a turn, that is.)  My friends and I used to walk over to the school playground in the summertime, just so we could swing and swing.  We would try to time it so that we were swinging in unison.  And I especially liked the swings at one park in my hometown -- the top of the swing set was quite tall, with long, long chains coming down to the seat of the swing.  My dad would push me higher and higher, till I felt like I was flying up to the stars, just as Stafford says in his poem.

(Psst... if you haven't read about the Big Blue Birthday Contest yet, please check out this post.)