Visiting Bob Johnson’s Department Store
In the early 60’s when I was around six or seven years old
riding thirteen miles into town
in my Dad’s old wooden sided station wagon
was a real treat.
Shucks, it was a treat
for any chap in my rural community.
It was time to dress purtty.
Had my hair greased with Royal Crown.
Parted and snuggly plaited as two corded braids.
Mom wouldn’t let me cut no bangs,
I had to be content with the thick rolled sausage of hair
pinned firmly in place with hairpins.
Wore one of my Sunday-Go-To-Meeting dresses
puffed out just right from my stiff candy cane petticoat.
Vaseline smoothed legs, white socks trimmed with spidery web thin lace around the turned down edges
and black patent leather shoes with slightly overturned heels,
gave me that Ooh Chile, I know I’m cute feeling.
Everybody loved Bob Johnson’s Department Store.
Upstairs and downstairs were some of the prettiest clothes
to see that I knew for certain we couldn’t afford.
Them clothes smelled good too.
Smelled better than mothballs
and sure-nuff, smelled better
than the colored bathroom
midway of the store on the basement level.
About this poem
A childhood experience (Also in my book)
Font size:
Submitted by nelmsludwig on October 30, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 1 View
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABXCCX ABDXXD EXEXX XXXXXXXX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,118 |
Words | 212 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 5, 8 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Visiting Bob Johnson’s Department Store" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/172198/visiting-bob-johnson’s-department-store>.
Discuss the poem Visiting Bob Johnson’s Department Store with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In