Summer Rerun #7 – Memory's Toyshop

Originally  Posted Saturday, August 28, 2010

When I was little, there were no media-linked toys, iPods, laptops, or cell phones. For many children of my era, the toys we loved best were little green plastic army men, Hula-Hoops, Slinkies, Ginny and Barbie dolls, Play-Doh, and Mr. Potato Head (played with real potatoes). However, any toy, from any era, will be great for this prompt. 


First, think back to your childhood and recall a toy that was special to you. “Freewrite” about that toy for a few minutes. How is this toy the memory-trigger for a past experience and/or relationship? Write a poem about (1) the toy, (2) about a memory triggered by your recollection of the toy, or (3) about a person you associate with the toy. Alternatively, you might write about a toy that was special to your child or to a pet. You might enjoy writing a persona poem from the perspective of a toy. It's playtime!

Example:

Slinky

By Linda Radice

The kid in the commercial had straight stairs 

for the coil to work its way down. The three

story staircase in our house had landings that 

turned. My slinky required a nudge around 

corners, but guided close to the railing it went 

smoothly past Uncle Joe who came to visit 

great-grandma every Thursday afternoon, and 

slid by my grandfather in his gardening shoes at 

sun up. I could make it glide with my father’s run 

when the fire whistle called him to the station, and 

work it around my mother – the constant between

each floor stepping quickly, my brother on her hip, 

to check on my grandmother after her stroke.  

The staircase and the house around it are for sale,

     

the rest of the people who walked there are gone,

sixty years of footsteps that wore the wood smooth.

I perfected Slinky’s twisted descent long ago – the kid 

with the straight stairs has nothing on me.

Copyright © 2015 by Linda Radice. All Rights Reserved. 

From What We Can't Keep (Little Poodle Press, 2015).