Kindergarten at Rolph Road Public School
I had a friend on the corner
Another down the street
Several that just appeared
We played road hockey
Climbed tress and jumped in leaves
Crushed Pennies on train tracks
and played chicken on our bikes.
I grew up in Leaside
First as Duane, then as Bob
That's where life began
I was six. The before was wished away
The before, I'm told, was Cornwall
Then Logan Ave and The Riverdale Zoo
And a sister and a brother or two or three
And a lot of Toronto Children's Aid Society
In a house as an only child
In another as one of many
In one where I did the laundry
In another where I was strapped, a lot
In and out
Sometimes fed, often not, never well
Sometimes hugged sometimes slapped.
And then I turned six
Then it was Leaside
Then it was real memories
Not just memories learned
from the past I had wished away
There was public skating
and popcorn and Hockey games
Hot chocolate and The Westbury Hotel
And Santa Claus Parades
There was the Chip King
And adults playing cards
Hockey Night in Canada
and the The Flintstones at Lunch
There were also house fires
Doctor visits
Stolen cars
And skipping school
And there was a new mother that cared
And a new father who dared
He wouldn't back down
and he never gave in or up
There was a blue convertible
Juicy Fruit gum and True Cigarettes
There was an office on Bayview
near a diner with Lemon Pie
There was a TV Commercial
and rubber cement
There was Canada Wire and Cable
and skate sharpening and Mr. Mahovlich
There were wirehaired dogs
and a kind, elderly not-aunt
The Christmas Wish Book
And Santa Claus was real after all
I began as a rescue dog
too scared, too quiet, too thin
But love found me and cared for me
And I received more than I deserved
And now I have the memories
Mostly good
Some bad
And the worst, those are the memories learned