poem for english

The Great Lover

By Grace Holloway

These I have loved:

Smiling faces; a brown brothers black hair,

The rush of a waterfall; the smell of a grandmother’s hug,

Bubble baths and baby feet, rain;

Clean, warm laundry; the crack of a baseball against a bat;

The sticky kiss of a little toddler;

The taste of warm French-fries;

The laughter of little boys;

The feeling of holding a pencil;

Long green grass and my baby bunny;

Clean sheets; music

The sound a camera makes as it captures an image

A fresh strawberry, still wet;

The sound of a crashing wave

Seeing my breath when it’s freezing outside;

Lots of cousins; talking with aunts;

Taking pictures; pumpkin pie shakes and Christmas trees

The smell of hot chocolate; my favorite old jeans;

The roar of a crowd; grape popsicles; Yogurt Stop;

Watching my favorite movies in clean jammies;

Freshly cut flowers and sand;

Hugs and the sting of ocean water;

The sound of an airplane taking off; the click of a wallet closing;

Singing out loud; dancing with friends, and the smell of little boys fresh from the tub.

All these have been my loves.

(Modeled after a poem by Rupert Brooke)