Fishing With Pepe Poem by Juan Olivarez

When I was ten, we fished all day,
By the old hackberry tree.
That's where Pepe and I used to play,
Everyday thats where we'd be.

Our hooks were old rusty safety pins,
Our moms had thrown away.
But they made our faces sport wide grins,
On those long hot summer days.

Our fishing line, was just some string,
From the local grocery store.
But we were happy that was the thing,
What ten year olds are ever bored?

Sometimes when fate smiled down upon us,
We'd catch a perch or maybe two.
But through it all we wouldn't fuss,
Our summer skies were always blue.

Sometimes I sit and think back on,
The way things used to be.
Remembering all those days long gone,
And what they meant to me.

And I still see Pepe now and then,
Yes, he's still my best friend.
We stop and laugh about way back when,
And about what might have been.

We've known each other for fifty years,
Give or take a couple of days.
We've shared our joys and sometimes tears,
Guess it was meant that way.

6/9/11 Alton Texas