Up, Down vs. Down, Up

Up, down, 

Mom grips, 

Runs,

Then lets go. 

Up, down, 

Weaving wheel 

Snake prints 

In gravel and grass. 

Up, down, 

Two pedals, 

Little bike, 

On the ground. 

Up, down,

Boy’s spirit, 

Knee Scuffed. 

Up, down, 

Little bike 

Put away 

For another day. 

Up, down, 

“I will 

do that 

when 

I know

how.” 

Up, down, 

Door slams. 

Up, down, 

Mom sighs. 

There’s no 

Explaining

That you 

Need to

Do it 

To learn

How.

There’s no 

Explaining 

Down, up.

That was a hard day.  How do you convince him that he can't just not do something until he knows how to do it?  Of course, now he's grown, having learned how to ride his bike shortly after that incident, and now rides a motorcycle!

The Feeling of Bats

I should have left earlier.
Darkness creeps in.
It touches the nape of my neck
And brushes my heels
Spinning wildly on the pedals.
Shadows of darkness
I've heard can get caught in my hair
As it streams out behind me in ribbons
Luring the creatures in.
Head low.
Elbows bent.
Careening home
Under the shadows
That flit and follow.


Can you tell how I feel about bats? I remember this night so vividly as I rode my bike home from the neighbor's house when I was probably 10 years old. I could see the bats as they appeared to be following me in the dim light. I so wished I'd started for home earlier!
To this day I cannot stand bats. I know. They are good mosquito eaters. But mosquitoes like me more than anyone else. I'm like a buffet for mosquitoes and, consequently, for bats. I
will not change my mind about bats, so don't even go there!