July 2023
Bio Note: I work in the field of statistics. Apart from writing, I enjoy walking my dog outside of town, drawing portraits in graphite and colored pencil, and reading books that provide alternative views. My long-term goal is to marry and raise a family “far from the madding crowd,” to use a line from Thomas Gray. My poetry has been published in The Society of Classical Poets, Snakeskin, and Sparks of Calliope, among others.
The Little Knight
The kitchen door slams open wide;
The boy flies through to play outside.
His house becomes his castle’s walls;
The distant car horns, clarion calls.
A stick becomes a mighty sword;
The bushes, an invading horde.
He charges with his battle cry,
Defending home, sword brandished high.
He fights assailants one by one;
Beneath the houses sinks the sun.
The sky near dark, marauders downed,
And bush leaves all around the ground,
The vanquished men laid by the tree
Go back to being shrubbery.
He drops his stick, runs in the door;
The castle is his house once more.
Play trains him up for when he’s grown,
Defending family of his own.
©2023 Joshua C. Frank
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