Lawrence Reeder

The Last Weekend in October, We Should Go Camping

We have been married for two years and
have never once gone camping:

to place those foil lumps onto breathing
coals –you would shape mine into a swan.

the arrival at night
under a leaky faucet sky

We have never sat wrapped in the blanket
your mother made, waiting for our souls’

to clamor at our tent’s pieces
while they lie lifelessly on the ground;

warming supper to sizzle and send signals
across the camp that it is ready. We have

or stuff a cooler full of essential
camping food, or carelessly add wood to

never sat tearing at those charred lumps, like
a neatly wrapped gift on Christmas morning.

an already feverous camp fire, where you
would toss cut up kielbasa, onions, peppers

& potatoes into tinfoil,
then shield your eyes

Lawrence Reeder currently attends Cal State University San Bernardino, and is working to obtain a Bachelors degree in Creative Writing. Afterwards, he plans to work towards an MFA. Lawrence lives in Redlands, CA.