to my Grandfather, Milton B. Young
American gadgets and whirligigs
and furbelows made of crepe de chine
and gizmos and hairpins and things that
spin in flashing colors
and papers with pins
and old timey churning
and soda shop yearning and
ice cream freezers and hand turning
everything, whizzers and wheezers
accordion pleated or flatiron
trim and packaged so neatly
remember when
you felt so much hope at the five and dime
collecting the wonders
that saved you time
american gadgets I love from the heart
and so did my Grandpa
and nautical charts and railroad reminders
and diamond finders
and Christmas orange rinders
and kept in a drawer with
inventive folklore
along with the stamps and
the radiant lamps
the arc of the past
making it last.
and ten times as fast!
mary angela douglas 22 december 2016
American gadgets and whirligigs
and furbelows made of crepe de chine
and gizmos and hairpins and things that
spin in flashing colors
and papers with pins
and old timey churning
and soda shop yearning and
ice cream freezers and hand turning
everything, whizzers and wheezers
accordion pleated or flatiron
trim and packaged so neatly
remember when
you felt so much hope at the five and dime
collecting the wonders
that saved you time
american gadgets I love from the heart
and so did my Grandpa
and nautical charts and railroad reminders
and diamond finders
and Christmas orange rinders
and kept in a drawer with
inventive folklore
along with the stamps and
the radiant lamps
the arc of the past
making it last.
and ten times as fast!
mary angela douglas 22 december 2016
