we broke cattails,
by the side of the pond
where the reeds grew thick,
their heads bursting in fluff
that spilled through our fingers
like dreams---
most fell into the water,
slipping beneath the surface,
but the ones that caught the breeze
we chased barefoot along the bank,
---until we grew up
and forgot to.
Tell a story in 55 words. Give it a try or just read more, go see g-man.
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I love cattails. I love their feel....so soft.
Lovely 55.
PG
I love this - it could be about almost any childhood ritual.
We were at a church picnic on Sunday where one of the girls was breaking the cattails - I had never seen it before. Pretty interesting.
very poignant
While at the conference in Sacramento, we drove out to Folsom to the outlet malls. ON the way there, we passed a swamp....with cattails. I yelled out, "Cattails!" The others in the van, all from Hawaii, did not know why I was so excited by them. But you know.
Oh man...this was just too good!!! What an analogy!! I loved it!
Some dreams, we ignore..and some, we pursue..
Gee..what a story in 55 words! I've gotta try it.. have always thought of, but have never dared to :)
You inspire me, Brian! And with this story here, all the more!! :)
Brings back memories for me. I remember twisting them just right and the seeds would just burst forth, kinda like the tubes of Pillsbury biscuits you smack on the counter to open.
(Glad to see I'm not the only early bird 55-er!)
Lovely, it reminded me that we all need to retain a piece of our child's joy
Yeah, what happened to us man? Why did we lose that childlike curiosity? Why did we have to lose it?
Ah... may we never grow up beyond our ability to chase the cattails.
we do that with dandelions
It is wonderful to be a child and have so many dreams, then when we become adults if one is lucky we still have dreams, maybe not the same childhood dreams, but dreams that have changed as we have changed. And if we are really blessed we have a few of those childhood dreams which we are still hoping will one day become reality. I sometimes think that this is what helps us to still feel young.
I always tell the grandkids to enjoy being a child for as long as possible because someday when you become an adult you will be wishing you could still be a child. They look at me like I am crazy, who knows, maybe I am.
God bless.
I always loved picking cattails. Great 55 Brian!
I love cattails,
still.
I adore cat tails and that brought back some sweet memories Brian.Thanks for that.
Have a great weekend!
lol if I knew what this was I would say yeah its greta but im scottish and dont have a clue lol..
Oh my, what a metaphor!
Ah, so wistful. Why do we lose that whimsical side? Too much stress? And then there's the deeper meaning, too, which you seem to bring out so effortlessly. This is a favorite 55.
Ah yes, I remember those. I think we called them catty 9 tails. I don't know why, but we did.
So many things we forget when we grow up!
Hey! You have an award waiting for you over at my place! :)
http://meekothedisgruntledsecretary.blogspot.com/2010/07/naughty-or-nice-award.html
Never grow up Peter Pan....
love the imagery of this one ;)
I still chase cattails, we used to call them punks.
And milkpods,can't resist'em
Peace ~ Rene
How quickly we forget the simple joys of life. The way we used to laugh and the dreams that we had! Sigh!!
Hugs
SueAnn
I remember those days, so long ago now but oh what lovely memories.
........:-) Hugs
Oh, no! Get thee out to the riverbank, and chase down your childhood! There are just some things one should never forget how to do.
"until we grew up and forgot to"
Wow! I love the way you pulled the reader right into the action and detail - slowing down enough, just enough, to let my fingers feel the cattail silk as it slipped out of my grasp and then BOOM I was an adult. You fooled me and my childhood was scattered all over the bank in those last seven words.
This poem has the same impact as a great piece of flash fiction - accept that it's just too beautiful for words.
Gosh...don't think I've seen cattails since I lived in Kansas. Loved the flyaway fluff!
We tend to forget a lot of the things that were simple, yet memorable when we "grow up"
We all need a reminder that we showed remember all of the good in our life. Thank you. :)
The wonderful thing about kids is having them reminds you to chase cattail fluff.
Who grew up??? he he
Very, VERY cool! I love this!
It is always great to be reminded of such pure and carefree stage of our lives.
1PM?
You live in England?
FRIDAY Flash 55 Brian!!!!!
Most excellent trip down Nostalgia lane. Especially since cattails are becoming endangered.
Thank you for your weekly brilliance Son...You Rock!
Have a Kick Ass Week-End...G
I have some cut cattails on my dresser and the other day one of them spontaneously burst into fluff. It was kind of wild.
Wow. I just had a deep childhood memory, seriously! We used to live next to a swampy area that had tons of cattails. It came back to me clear as day just now! Weird! It was a long time ago. :)
Maybe a few times in my life I actually held one of those cattails. Thanks for the 55 Brian.
I love cattails.
The forgetting part of growing up sucks.
I've never done it! Now I want to! Am I too old? ha.
nicely done, Brian. Until we grew up...awww.
Now ain't that the kicker... that we forget how to chase our dreams. Brilliantly put, Brian! I love cattails too. :)
oh this is so wistful, so evocative, so wonderful. i can feel the wet grass under my feet as we chase the fluff.
Lovely 55, Brian! Have a super weekend.
nice 55...I hope I never forget to break the cattails...or take time to enjoy the moment.
This totally took me back to my childhood! What a fabulous 55!
The rituals of childhood...the innocence...the fun.
When I was in high school and had just mopped and waxed our kitchen floor, a cat tail broke in the doorway and blew all across my still wet floor. Not fun!
Don't you wish that we didn't?
That is a beautiful metaphor for dreams! The imagery is so vividly visual!
Wonderful write, as usual!
". . . and forgot to." I wonder how many dreams are lying there buried deep waiting to be excavated. Some never will be . . .
Thoughtful 55.
Joy always and wishes for a brilliant weekend,
Susan
It's been years since I thought of doing that to cattails. Nest trip to Ohio it'll be on my to-do list. Thanks for the reminder.
Terrific 55.
jj
Brian, you have discovered the secret of getting back into a child's head! Forget the 55 - this is truly beautiful!
We as adults forget to do a lot of things.
I still have plenty more cattails to break.
Great memory from not that long ago really I guess - but it seems like forever.
Sometimes growing up can be no good at all.
Excellent, as always.
I think that you didn't forget Brian ... your poem is the 'proof' of it ... such a lovely poem, it brought some memories ... I used to pick them and bring them home, it made me smile :-)
I once ran out and called attention to the harvest moon holding the houses down but the other grown ups went on talking. My 55 here
That makes me miss the carefree days of childhood!
absolutely brilliant!
A very nostalgic few sentences, making me smile on this dull Friday.
CJ xx
What a sad ending - yet so true. How many simple things we forget.
D
A good reason for never growing up! :)
I guess the most important thing is to retain our childlike innocence.:)) I always enjoy your short stories, hope your Friday is great Brian,
xoxo
Grew up? Me? Never! :)
But a superb poem!
Greetings from Casa!
Thanks to you, I never forget :)
That was very encouraging. We do forget to dream as we get older.
I 'planted' cattails on our newly dug pond by cutting cattails from a ditch than bringing them home, breaking them and waving them like wands around our pond. The most sucessful magic! We now have cattails in plenty!
Lovely piece, Brian!
yep :)
This is very clever, and very enjoyable too. Thank for sharing it.
All the best, Boonsong
Growing up can really suck -- that's why I've avoided it!
:)
xo
You may lose the lung and leg power to chase the breeze floaters but you never have to lose the will.
i love your sense of imagery. this is sad, but it is so full of real life.
have a great weekend,
smiles,
I'm glad it doesn't have to be like this if we remember.
...that spilled through our fingers like dreams...
I'm so glad we don't forget all of our dreams when we grow up..love the blues feeling in your 55..
Oh, so true. But now you have reminded us. Perfect, thank you.
oh how I hope I never cease to be child-like just maybe a bit less childish at times but the wonder of it all teaches me to hope!
Really nice poem Brian :)
Never played with a cattail, I'll have to go look for a pond today.
I sometimes gets so lost in poetry but I was right there with you. You took me back to my childhood. So fun! Summer days. Love them!
It's good to have children around so we can do all the fun stuff we have forgotten!
Thanks for the childhood memory, we need to be reminded to dream a little. When my husband and I were first married, he waded out with me on his back so I could pick these huge cattails. I didn't realize that you should dry them first so I took them home and stuffed them in a milkcan that stood in our entry way. One day my husband said, "what is that horrid smell?" we started searching and yep, it was the cattails. So out they went....lesson learned :)
Cat tails are great! We have them right across the street. Its like its snowing when they fluff out and the breeze takes them.
Some of us are just now growing up.
lovely poem
the rhyme is just perfect
We used to break them open and put them through a widow fan. It was like a snow storm!
Oh I love this! It reminds me of when I was a kid and lived in the country. We used to do that all the time. So true, I forgot too!!!
aww growing up sucks sometimes..doesn't it???
We miss out on so much when we grow up.
Sweet 55 Brian.
Beautifully done. I was running along the river bank with you.
Cee
I love this image :-)
"and forgot to"
yes
We forgot how fun it was to chase, even the ones we couldn't catch.
But Bri you haven't grown up and I hope you never do. you always have that wonderful fresh outlook on life
smiles from the moon
This one left me with a feeling, some sort of nostalgia...
Too good....
it is so sad that adults forget how to be kids sometimes.
I could just remember how soft the cat tails would feel, and how the "stuffing" would burst forth when you broke it open. This brought back a lot of childhood memories. Thanks for that!
I loved this. Very nostalgic.
Maggie X
Nuts in May
lovely 55...let's never forget. heartspell
What a wonderful 55er and love the Picnic and children and families and velociraptors all running and playing and eating, sigh, one "magic moment' captured in time, a very Zen day with the Millers.
Reminds me of "Our Town" a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder
If you have not read it is is worth the read.
I have to remember Wed. & Theme Thursday, barely got through this week. Ugh!
Joanny
Terrific imagery Brian. Just love those dreams that caught the breeze. "Until we grew up" indeed.
I feel like all I ever write when I come here is "beautiful" - but you are a beautiful writer.
Loved this Brian, put me right back to the farm as a kid. I think I need to play more. take care.
Hope you all have a fun filled weekend. :)
pretty piece Brian
beautiful imagery...beautifully written.
Great work.
We grew up and forgot a LOT of things...thank you Brian for THIS reminder.
Mine is HERE
What a great metaphor! I loved being taken back to simple childhood delights, but not so much remembering all the dreams I'd let slip through my fingers later on... perhaps I can catch some of them still
Oh, how I wish we would never forget the wonderful world of the imagination!
Oh such simple pleasures. I need to learn how to have childlike fun again.....
Chasing cattails was always fun. Maybe, growing up is not that good after all. This is one of the many things we forget growing up.
Beautiful post, Brian:)
Beautiful!
This read like the most poignant of poetry, Brian. The beauty, the power of your words is unparalleled...and the last lines, "until we grew up
and forgot to." What can I say? I am simply in awe.
Ah, the trick is to grow up and NOT forget those moments. Must be why I still like dandelions. :)
Love the imagery as always you have another winner. I think you deserve many more awards. And I think you need to give Lima Beans another chance. My neggy veggy is brussel sprouts! :D
I love cat tails too. Lovely 55, Brian.
growing ups a bitch :)
Love this. We talked about dreams today in church. Excellent Brian, as always.
Lovely images :)
I used to do that also.
Very well-written.
This is excellent! Love the theme and its simplicity. I will reread...
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