Saturday, July 06, 2013

POEM - Just a Wax Animal

We would go to the Salt Lake area
A yearly visit to see the family
There were cousins in Sandy
And Butch and Leon lived close by
Butch with her short hair and kind eyes
Leon with his assortment of jumpsuits
            And ever present cigar
Then to my mom’s cousin’s family
Chris and Don and their kids
Then off to visit dad’s Aunt Merle
Way over in the foothills
Up in the older parts of Salt Lake

With the family visited
The attractions called to me
For years it was Trolley Square
Where they pulled the taffy
On the big swirling arms
I could watch that for hours
As long as I got some at the end

What I really looked forward to was the zoo
The Hogle Zoo was always a treat
Everything was close
The giraffes were at petting distance
There were big cats
Polar bears and great apes
Everything that there should be
Plus just one more thing

That one more thing was what mattered
It was the real reason I came to the zoo
The best reason to come to Utah
The point of being a child
It was the magic machine
The one I beg and pleaded to use
The coolest invention of all time
It was a machine that made figures
Replicas of different animals
Right there in front of my eyes

Upon inserting the proper coinage
The metal plates would close together
And the motors would hum a mysterious song
As underneath the clear plastic viewing bubble
Machinations of wonder took place
Until moments later
When all the noises ceased

A final gasp would be released
As the shiny silver prison
Bifurcated in revelation
Exposing to all the world
A newly crafted piece of wonder
A hollow yellow plastic giraffe
Or a lion in green or blue
Or perhaps a red gorilla
Lovingly displayed
For a beautiful instant

Then a thin spring loaded spatula
Would violently slide forward
Separating the toy’s umbilical
Disconnecting it indifferently
From its cozy metallic womb
Shoving it off the pedestal
Down into the dark of the retrieval bin
Where I could greedily grasp it
A new wonder of manufacturing
Smoldering in my grubby little mitts
A slight burning smell exuding
Bathing me in the soothing aroma
Of hot plastic and chemicals

The intoxicating scent of pure joy




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