Smuggs ’14 Chronicle, Day 12: August 5, 2014

mountain lodge among pine trees
Total: 0 Average: 0
  yasr-loader

Our self-guided Wike begins with soggy sneakers. Our path emerges from wet, high grasses near the driveway to Mountain Laurels. We find a path to Notchville Park and take the loop down to the Reservoir. Turning back and ascending the steep hill, we reach Morse Mountain Lodge. There, our way continues up Wire Road, named for the fancy of mine-owner Morse’s wife. She wanted a telephone, so his workers ran the wire. We reach a brook that cascades into falls. Turning left at a junction, we cross a bridge. Mira remembers it.

“It’s where we break on the Morse Mountain hike.”

seated brookside scolding blue jays over the babble

Frankie takes the first bounce and screams. Higher and higher, he goes, rebounding off of the trampoline, secured by bungie cords attached to a harness and a hydraulic arm. He does a flip.

The attendant says, “That will tire him out.”

I answer, “Do more.”

up and down towering above him ancient pines

Our trip to Family Karaoke ends with he and I playing life-size chess. We Call it a draw on account of drizzle.

coming home sound of steady rain falling

Photo by Dino Reichmuth

Total: 0 Average: 0
  yasr-loader
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Frank J. Tassone

Frank J. Tassone lives in New York City's "back yard" with his wife and son. He fell in love with writing after he wrote his first short story at age 12 and his first poem in high school. He began writing haiku and haibun seriously in the 2000s. His haikai poetry has appeared in Failed Haiku, Cattails, Haibun Today, Contemporary Haibun Online, Contemporary Haibun, The Haiku Foundation and Haiku Society of America member anthologies. He is a contributing poet for the online literary journal Image Curve, and a performance poet with Rockland Poets. When he's not writing, Frank works as a special education high school teacher in the Bronx. When he's not working or writing, he enjoys time with his family, meditation, hiking, practicing tai chi and geeking out to Star Wars, Marvel Cinema and any other Sci-Fi/Fantasy film and TV worth seeing.

You may also like...

Leave a Reply