Raise the Hammer
At my age and stage in life, victories are hard to come by if they come at all. So I note and celebrate each one, regardless of how small.
By Kevin Somers
Published September 08, 2015
Words By Kevin Somers
Photos By Claire
At my age and stage
In life
Victories are hard to come by
If they come at all
So, I note and celebrate each one
Regardless of how small
After all
I'll never hoist Stanley's Cup
Or win a Beer league title
I'll never play a game, again, that pretends it might be vital
So, when I beat my girls at ping pong
I dance, gloat, showboat
Bust moves, sing songs, blast a tweet
It's a small victory, sure
But it's super sweet
The table where the games are played
Is small and it's homemade
We don't care, there's fun to spare
In our ping pong lair
Down there
Recreation that's fit and free
Is another victory
Every morning, when the sun is greeting me
I declare victory
Because I didn't die in my sleep
Despite how I live
And the company I keep
I have two girls I think are great
I think they'd say the same of me:
Victory
Number One Son's off to university
Victory for her, woe for me
I hope, but she fears
She'll look after Dad in his retirement years
A victory which can't be beat:
Daughter two got a job on Trendy Locke Street.
She'll greet, find you a seat, before you eat
On Trendy Locke Street
Sweet!
A trendy old man
With old-man eyes
Looked into mine and told me lies
"Son," he said, "this used to be called 'Locke Street'"
Why did he lie?
Oh, the freaks you meet
On Trendy Locke Street
I ain't cheap, but I'm thrifty
Thrifty is nifty
When I find a deal that's a steal
I declare victory
I love to pillage Value Village;
The uber chic
V V Boutique
We bought our house a decade ago
Entombed, it was, in concrete
Getting rid has been slow
But it's been sweet
With an old sledgehammer
And lots of Beer for staminner
We broke it up and freed the soil
Now the ground does all the toil
Concrete pieces are expensive refuse
Months' pay to haul them away
So we put them to better use;
Parking patch, paths, features, grassy knoll...
... Or piled high
To help us keep the basement dry
We made a little pond and waterfall
Now creatures come, large and small
More than one would ever think
Stop by the pond to have a drink
Birds, snakes, raccoons, wasps...
And every species that we see
Is another victory
I encourage them to stay and chat
But they're not really into that
Oh well, it's still swell
The pond, naturally, harvests rain
With a bucket it's simply great
When I want to irrigate
Every plant or any tree
It keeps me busy as a bee
No rain, no gain
No victory
A law I'd like to table,
Pond supplies come with a label:
"WARNING: this, at first, will seem like bliss
But , similar to smoking crack
Once you pond you can't go back"
If the world's calling and I'm not responding
It's quite likely I'm out there ponding
While Rome burns
I'll be playing with fiddlehead ferns
Near O! the pond
To where I'll abscond
To while away while the world turns
When I pond, I feel free
Ponding is a victory!
From every window we can see
A lovely, luscious victory
There's an urban jungle just outside;
It's a perfect place for me to hide
And carry on without a care
My hot and heavy love affair
With the natural beauty right out there
After a decade of bouncing fun
The end of the era had finally come
So in a little plot right under the sun
Where there'd been a trampoline
A garden was planted, this year, instead
Purposeful green, if you know what I mean
There are, of course, mouths to be fed
It's beside the maturing apple tree
Which is, of course, a victory
Apples falling from the sky
Nature's way of saying, "Hi!"
Tomatoes hanging from the vine:
Devine
Cucumbers and pumpkins on the ground
A sense of something quite profound
The inhospitable grey concrete
Repulsed life and gave off heat
Now, bees, trees, leaves, reeds, seeds, weeds, plants, ants
Roots, shoots, fruits, bushes, bugs, shrubs, grubs, slugs, flowers...
All of nature's infinite powers
Emerge from the soil worked with our hands
And the cooling earth obeys our commands
I'll assert
You touch God when you touch dirt
My mind races with possibilities
Chickens, goats, honey bees...
Imagine cities with micro food factories...
Imagine life on an urban farm...
The timid need not be alarmed
The scheme would do more good than harm
Steel City could use some country charm
The Somers' summer's greatest victory:
My daughter helped her friend
Who hadn't had the opportunity
Learn to use a bike
They had a blast
She caught on fast
So they went for a ride
Together with pride
And two smiles, really wide
A victory I value everyday
Is living in a country where I'm free
Free enough that I can say
"Please!
Mr. Harper, go away
I've had enough of your sleaze
Take your greasy, grimy, slimy, lying friends
And hit a trail that never ends"
If I'm lucky and live to see
Hamiltonians riding LRT
That'll be a victory
In the meantime, Hamilton's fine
Rain or shine
It's a perfect place for us to call mine
It's the only town my girls have known
The city where they've up and grown
The birthplace of our memories
Our land of opportunities
And home of savoured victories
An early, favourite memory:
My mother reading Dr. Seuss to me...
"Hey!"
To myself I said
"Rather than photo-essay
Why not a poem one instead?
You like to rhyme
You rhyme all the opportunities presented
It could be fun
Has it been done?
Maybe you could do the very first one"
A thousand words sounded right
Not too long, not too tight...
...Hey, mom, look at me
A thousand words of rhyme, not prose
A thousand words, on the nose
Wee
Victory
Peace
By Bekah (anonymous) | Posted September 16, 2015 at 07:55:03
Lovely! I think these are all worthy victories. They might appear to be small, but small things in life can mean a lot. Having an abundant garden grow where there was once concrete is a wonderful victory.
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