Still another poem from SGVPQ 40

Lindy Hill

IF I’M DOWN TO A SINGLE WORD

let it be
Wapakoneta
a word of strength
imagination
history

not obscure
space buffs
will know
this word

in my dotage
which I hope
lasts a mere
moment
when I am
at a loss for words
Wapakoneta
will be the perfect one
to wrap my tongue
around

if I forget what it means
it will at least
pinpoint to others
when I lived
what was important
to me
what was in the news
back in my day

if I can no longer utter this
say it to me
you might hear the story
how I cried that day
in ‘69
as I watched coverage
of man’s first
walk on the moon

what a wonderful era
you will live in
I say to my infant
asleep
in the midnight
of history

speak the word again
you might elicit
the log of our trip
a year or two later
when we drive
some miles out of our way
to the small Ohio town
home to…
I might pause
and not for drama
but you will then
fill in the blank

Neil Armstrong

I will smile
murmur
one small step for man