Sunday, November 26, 2023
HOT FLORIDA NIGHTS - A POEM BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
As a boy,
Half a hundred years ago,
I lay sleepless,
Shirtless,
Sweat trickling,
Sheets sticking to me,
The one window of my room open,
Old box fan
Droning in the corner.
I dreamed and imagined all sorts of things,
But never thought
To dream about a cooler place.
In Florida in the Summer, heat was...
And humidity went without saying.
So, each Summer night,
A few steps short of misery,
I lay awake for hours,
Mind traveling along the corridors
Built by images made from
The books I read incessantly.
Later,
Girls and cars having been discovered,
And cars,
At least,
Conquered,
Hot nights became cooler,
Driving down Palafox Street
With windows down,
Or,
Out to the Gulf Of Mexico.
Eventually,
Hot Florida nights included
Two A.M. feedings,
And the occasional rush
To an emergency room.
Now, no longer in Florida,
I have air conditioning,
But...
Still often lie awake,
Sleepless, sticky with sweat,
As the medicine works
To slow the progress of
The cancer within.
...Which the boy never imagined.
On nights like these,
My mind wanders up and down
Even more corridors,
Including those built by more books,
And a half century of living.
No more chasing girls
Or driving up and down Palafox,
Or to the bay,
In the moonlight...
Except in my memory,
When I remember...
Hot Florida nights.
Labels: boy, cancer, donovan baldwin, Florida, Gulf Of Mexico, man
