David Pekrul

Small Town USA



Posted: Saturday, February 14, 2009

by David Pekrul

This poem took a lot of my imagination for more than one reason: firstly, I'm not American, I'm Canadian and only lived a very, very (four months) short time in the USA. Secondly, I never stayed in the town in which I was born. I fact, I have lived in eight different cities and towns during my 58 years. These towns are located in two Canadian provinces and one US state.

I wrote this poem because many of my American friends and cousins were born and have lived in the same town all their lives. I often wonder what it would have been like. I have this romantic idea of what it would have been like to have attended the same schools as my wife and know all the same people. What it would have been like to have coffee with my friends in the same diner where I used to buy milkshakes when I was a kid.

With this romantic notion in mind, I present to you the following poem.

I grew up in a very small town,
A small town in which I still live,
A town where even my parents grew up,
A town for which all I would give.

Down on the corner, the small barber shop,
Where 'Grandpa Jones' first cut my hair,
And then next to that is Pop's Ice Cream store,
Where sodas were made with such flare.

The movie theatre where soldiers did fight,
For the land of the brave and the free,
And in my backyard, all my friends there would meet,
In my clubhouse way up in a tree.

The schoolhouse with only one old musty room,
With a bell tower sitting on top,
We'd play in the courtyard for all we were worth,
'Till the school bell would tell us to stop.

And when I got older, the town's coffee shop,
Where friends there would meet to discuss,
The state of the Union and prices of gas,
Which at times would cause someone to cuss.

I never would think of leaving this town,
Its life-blood now flows through my veins,
It was good for my father, for me and my kids,
And to leave would cause nothing but pain.

So I'll live and I'll die in my little home town,
And be buried up there on the hill,
My spirit now free to wander through time,
But in fact I'll be living here still.

If this article is used in any publication, please send a copy of the publication to David Pekrul at

170 Carr Cres.
Okotoks, AB
T1S 1E3
Canada
E-Mail:dpekrul@gmail.com



David Pekrul was born in New Westminster, B. C. Canada.

He wrote his first poem in February, 2004, as an Anniversary card for his wife, Linda. Being rather pleased by the results of his first attempt, he wrote a second one, then another and another. He soon realized that he was in love with words.

The pictures that his words paint may not always be pretty, but they are pictures worth viewing, for he writes about the world around him, whether they be things good, bad or otherwise. He also writes about family, nature, God and faith.

His first poetry book, "Parts Of The Sum Volume One" has just been published and can be found at http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3145051

David makes his home in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies with his wife Linda and spoiled pup, Tiki.

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