Kite Tail

A tale of a boy and a kite

 

I once heard tale of a tow headed boy;

Who simply wanted a shiny new toy.

The bulb above his head gave a little light.

Eureka!  He exclaimed.

I shall ask mum for a kite.

Hence his mum journeyed to the local toy store,

But alas rainbow kites they had no more;

Nor red ~

Nor yellow ~

No; not even blue.

No kites remained for sale in county Heath.

Twas quite sad ~

But quite true.

This truth of course was indeed sad to hear.

Though the fine young lad ne'er shed a tear.

As it so happened this boy had much ambition;

So he went straight to work at the table in the kitchen.

Strewn across the oak were trails of glue;

Olde quilt squares; thread; and dowels too.

Minutes turned to hours; but the boy did not abate.

Food was offered; though declined;

He was; have you been reading?

On a mission.

It could wait.

And as the sun crossed its zenith in the sky;

His mum looking a bit weary by and by;

The boy put the tail to his hand worked kite.

And indeed it was ~

YES!

It was;

A glorious site.

His mum gave a smile; and drew him by the hand.

Outside; and up a hill

To a swelling in the land.

There; the tow headed boy let his creation fly,

Soaring on the breeze of cotton cloud sky.

Author's Note

Seemingly long ago and far away I taught 18 four year olds to make kites. It was NOT easy; but it was fun.

Reviews

[Gary H]

Nice story. Being dim I read the 'tow' as 'two' to start with. Then I consulted my dictionary to find 'flaxened haired' to be the answer. Like the way you used some older English words in this, giving the whole work a timeless feel. Not so keen on the 'it' words, would be better as 'this' maybe?
This is a very strong write and always, if you know a subject well, this is the best one to use to create a poem. Your recollections of kite making really stand up well.

[emz]

I actually cried.... i agree with robert the kite runner is an amazing book.. but your story was far more simple and free.... the determination of such a young lad just wanting to make his kite... oh if only life was so simple.... loved it well done x

[None]

What a treasure here. You brought back memories of when my son was little and he won a ribbon for "The Youngest Kite Flier".
A lovely poem with a special and tender message. Written very beautifully!

[Rain]

This was such a neat, innocent, fun poem. I loved it. Rain..

[Deborah Leah Krempa]

Nice flowing poem. Sounds like fun. Thank you for sharing. Debileah

[Robert Luna]

This made me think of Kite Runner. If you have not read it I highly suggest it. The movie was also pretty good but the book was by far better. Enough of that.

I love the image of a child's eye wide open and feeling as if they were the ruler of the world for those moment with the kite flighting so highly in the sky. Mmmm brings back a happy memory for me. I my father took me to a park when was real young and taught me how to fly a kite it is one of the few strong memories I have of him before he got sick. Thank you I really need that. It is a great thing to remember good times like that.

Great Job!!!!!!

[R J Askew]

I loved this one. Ach, the innocence of it! The pleasure of just doing it and then, perhaps, actually seeing it fly. The poem definitely flys for me. Maybe poets are just big kids also and we hope our creations will fly.

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

I love this .. it reminds me of childhood .. children never giving up , finding a way .. love the rhyming scheme..
I can picture the cotton tail kite.. it is as said below a wonderful work of art .. and so is the kite in the poem ..

Chloe
xoxo

[W.k.kortas]

This is wonderful...the narrative is so clean and strong, and the final five lines are just perfect. A wonderful, wonderful piece of work.