Poor Eddie Van Patten

Here's a link to my you tube channel where I read my poetry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRhyjqbFrGI

I was in 4th grade at
Hubble Elementary.
Eddie Van Patten was
in 6th grade.
He was a big kid, even
for a 12-year-old.
He had a bowl cut,
and freckles.
Eddie was a  
troublemaker,
but he never  
bothered me.

One bitter cold
January afternoon,
he slipped on a  
patch of ice,
hit the back of
his head and died.
Mr. Maguire, the
gym coach said,
It was the occipital bone.
We were all told
to feel the back of  
our heads.
The coaches' eyes
didn't have that
sparkle anymore.

He said,
“You have to  
learn how to
fall, always protect
the back of your head.
If you don’t land right,
It can kill you.”

For the next
week, we practiced
tumbling and
learning to fall the
right way.
I was sad for
Eddie, but I wanted
to play dodgeball.

Author's Note

My book, Seedy Town Blues Collected Poems is available on Amazon.

Reviews

[Eilis]

Those tragedies we experience in childhood do stay with us. I like how you expressed the child’s idea of wanting things to be normal in the midst of the collective loss. The poem overall gives a sense of a child’s view of tragic circumstance. Nice work.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you. Much appreciated.

[Desert Knave]

Wow. Really quite the tale. Amazing how fragile we are in our little human suits. ~Jim

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, my friend.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

what a tragic story, something that should never have happened to a child. but i suppose the world is full of lives lost far too early. one can only weep. the persona of this poem is too little to fully comprehend death and is preoccupied by dodgeball. such innocence only adds to the pathos. but even this child notices changes: he feels sad; he notices the colour of the coach's eyes change. he is growing. he is learning all about the world. a heart-aching coming of age drama.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, my friend.

[John the Baptist]

When you're young, you think you're indestructible. You also think concussions happen to other people.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, my friend.

[red93]

'There but for the Grace of God go you and I'. This has shades of Salinger Thomas. Really Excellent ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you so much, my friend.

[Pete]

when we're young, there's a tendency to think that we're invulnerable. there were probably some who thought that he got what he deserved.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, Pete. I appreciate it.

[Neville]

very sad & unfortunate but @ least he will be remembered now for all eternity .. a nice one too Thomas 👍

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, kind sir.

[Neville]

......... my pleasure .. 😎👍