ustxtxb_obs_2001_04_13_50_00016-00000_000.pdf

. 0E: Things That Go 4. W# 11441A1.141 rf for my son nirin ft 41 Po It all began with vacuum cleaners, red Dirt Devils, on page thirty-three of the Sears and Roebuck catalog. We’d sit for hours turning the pages back and forth, like the rocking of the chair where I sang my son to sleep, sometimes humming the tune, with a low hum like the sound of a well-tuned motor. Then he moved on to construction vehicles, earth moversbackhoes and front-end loaders. Next, came semisMack, Peterbilt, International, trucks he could name at night by headlights coming down the road. But it all began with vacuum cleaners. Each time I turned ours on, he’d dance around the room and sing. 113. :.:11; POETRY Imp.walblmeresaweawswavemaywooreo-i firmasor.lawma Unbound You can’t deny it. The moan and hum of the lawn mowers means Spring is here. Outside work calls. You spent all winter on the interior. Cupboards organized, closets cleaned out. Boxes of old letters and photographs sorted. Useless ones tossed. If you’re trapped in there, It might as well be orderly. You kept the sidewalk clear for necessary trips. Swept the oppressive snow aside just enough. But now there is more than white to the world. The grass grows tall. The retreat Of frost has left the windows Stained. The melting banks reveal What was left for lost. Paint has peeled and gutters clogged. Know your safety is not guaranteed. Bees still sting and sharp weeds Occupy the flowerbeds. Yet, there are things you can do. There is much out here That needs Tending. Ann Lynn Joseph Radke J. oseph Radke was born and raised in Oconto Falls, Wisconsin. A graduate of the University ofWisconsin-Madison, he currently lives in Waco, Texas with his bloodhound, Sherlock. He works in Baylor University’s Information Technology Center and is completing his Master’s degree in American Studies at Baylor. This is his first publication. Ann Lynn has worked as a social worker, freelance editor and writer, and poetry teacher with children. She has received numerous awards for her own writing. Her poems have been published in The Christian Science Monitor, Many Mountains Moving, Fresh Ground, and Graffiti Rag, among many other places. She recently moved with her family to Atlanta from Chicago and is connected to Texas through her husband’s parents, who live in Smithville. Naomi Shihab Nye 16 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 4/13/01