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Little Red Wagon bought for my brother,
Dad would pull him through fields of clover
My kid brothers would have such a thrill
coasting fast down the eastside hill
Dad used it for planting and hauling dirt,
he didn’t want his back to get hurt
And that wagon really helped out
when my brother got a newspaper route
It was left in the garage to gather dust,
then it was left outside to gather rust
Red color was fading, growing faint,
so Dad applied a new coat of paint
Brushed over the words, ‘Radio Flyer,’
scraped off the rust and replaced the tire
The restoration gave our mother smiles;
it was good to go for many more miles
My brothers grew and left the nest,
the wagon in the backyard would rest
Holding flower pots and garden gear,
and other stuff you’d want to keep near
After Dad died, the wagon was neglected –
but grandkids caused it to be resurrected
I’d give my nieces and nephew a ride,
they traveled the universe sitting inside
And I don’t know who had the most fun
when I got the chance to pull my own son
But even those kids grew and lost interest,
poor little wagon sat alone at rest
Mom asked if I had a use for this heirloom,
I could have it if I had enough room
So the little red wagon came to my place,
I had in mind by the storage shed a space
When I wanted to make a flagstone track,
the wagon saved me from an aching back
It was the perfect place to place my socket
or screwdriver or wrench before I’d use it
For a while, it held a huge cactus pot,
I’d use it to hold anything and what-not
Wheels got all wobbly and the bed was rusty,
but it was always there, ready and trusty
I parked it by the fence under the tree one day,
when I got home, my neighbor called to say
he heard a banging like metal in my yard,
he apologized for not being on guard
But he saw someone drive up in a van
and take something red from my land
It was my old red wagon I’m sorry to state,
its loss left me feeling sad and irate
I wonder if they stole it for the metallic worth
or would it ever see a little kid’s mirth
I kind of hope they scraped off the mud,
repainted it, showed it some love
And renewed its life for a new generation
rather than melting it down for refabrication
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Photo Credit: Getty Images
I enjoyed hearing you read this at Sun Poets Don. A good nostalgic piece.