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JR Rhine Jan 2017
**** Middle-Aged Dad at the Water Park,
this is an ode to you.

**** Middle-Aged Dad at the Water Park
ambles behind
the kids sprawling out of the entrance
like baby spiders spilling
out of the crushed mother’s abdomen.

**** Middle-Aged Dad at the Waterpark
flip-flops his way to the lazy river,
shies his black Harley Davidson tanktop
to reveal his sunburnt
abdomious belly
flopping over his camo swim trunks.

He shakes off his flip-flops
and awkwardly wades in,
his hulking mass shifting with
each foot and tree trunk
of a leg smashing into
the shallow water,
sending shockwaves towards
screaming toddlers
in his wake.

Finding a vacant tube,
he turns his body around
and heaves himself
into the neon green donut
with considerable
and farcical
difficulty.

Mother at the pavilion
opens an eye from the lawn chair
and chuckles to herself,
applying another layer of sunscreen
over ruddy cancer-sensitive skin.

Sporting oblong racecar sunglasses
atop flushed puffy cheeks,
**** Middle-Aged Dad at the Waterpark
basks in the baking mid-summer sun
and the cool ****-ridden waters
he sinks his hands and feet into.

What is on his mind?
I imagine it is as close
to nothing
as he aims to get,

free from responsibility
like a wiry youth
he knew
from long ago.

The piercing screams of laughter
from ambulant children
splashing about him
are fruitless
in penetrating
his enclave.

He coasts about this way
for an eternity,
his red leather hide
burning in the hot sun
enwreathing his glasses.

Meanwhile,
mother reads
under the cool shade
of the pavilion,

the kids tumble down
slides and splash gleefully,
endlessly,

and life lingers on a moment
for a necessary
sojourn.

**** Middle-Aged Dad
awakens from his sun-cooked daze,
approaches the exit
and prepares himself
for his departure.

Waddling left and right,
he flops starboard
splashing magnificently
like a cannonball rolling off the deck
into the ocean.

His sunglasses leave him in the ruckus,
he gropes blindly
with chlorine-infested eyes,
til he grasps the visage
and stands up in the water.

His great body surges
from the waters,
fading tattoos gleam
along with a bald spot
in the sunlight.

He ambles through the waters—
water spilling out of rolls of fat
undulating in the motion—
and sensuously runs a baseball glove of a hand
through thinning hair.

His trunks bunch up around
firm, beefy buttocks
and a tired old *****,
thick tree trunk thighs,
ending its constriction just above
the wrinkled knot
of kneecaps.

Mother snapshots a photo
of the visage,
his fruits spilling about him
in perpetual glee,
his stolid look of authority,
wisdom, drive,
and endearment.

Years later,
the ambulant youths
on the cusp of adulthood

leaf through old photo albums
suddenly eyeing the Father piously
in a newfound awe,

aware of his gargantuan countenance
that shielded their efflorescence.

He was their sun,
he was their shade,
and their sky—

for he knew
when to plant,
and when to water,
and when to wait.

Running a thumb over
the diaphanous visage
exemplifying
an analog adolescence,

they jeer each other
over the Father,
secretly harboring
an amassing reverence
for the great figure,

the **** Middle-Aged Dad at the Water Park.
Arlo Miller Jul 2015
When distance separates and too much time has passed
Just outside the door I stand with excitement
I feel like a magnet
so close to its opposite partner
the invisible pull stronger than steel

I open the door and all my baggage falls
then I set my things down and we embrace
I feel like the last puzzle piece
discovered under the couch
fulfilling the final perfect fit

Your brain isn't supposed to have feeling
But I do, and this feeling I love
I feel like a waterpark
made for young endorphins to play
*every curvy slide in my brain for free
coming home to Diana after a long trip
Adam Lawler May 2018
morning coco pops and
silence in the low house
we creep around the halls
a playground, a waterpark

whatever we wanted
until he appears in the doorway
caught rapid hand in biscuit tin
wraps us in his puce embrace

it is in the wind that blows across the cold north beach
it is in the rain that bids hydrangea bloom
it is in the golden crust that tops the rhubarb ****
and in the weight that comes with "see you soon"

buzzcut season in the air
wooden hearts are carved with care
arrows fly through misty skies
watch him climb the spiral stair
An Ode. 29/3/2018
Biankha Sarahi Apr 2018
sunlight peeks through the window
birds compose early morning songs
a gentle nudge to wake me
to greet me
good morning
the day has begun!


sticky moisture in the air
clinging to my arms
summer time kisses on my skin
small pecks to remind me
hello! it’s me! the season of warmth!

citrus smells fill the air
orange tress have b l o s s o m e d
a sweet treat for my nostrils
my taste buds thank me too

in the yards, children play
engineers in a water hose transformation
from plain yard, to a roaring waterpark
coming to a yard near you
laughter and joyful shrieks
provide proof
of this summer time fun.

summer time smiles
summer time indulgence

welcome summer, we’ve been waiting for you
chris Jan 2022
I think I saw all of you in a *******
It was raining and I was crying
We were at a waterpark
People screamed when they went down the slides and sighed at the end
A baby was calling out for its mother
Drops splashed down onto the sweet pavement
Ella Nov 2017
you have boring eyes,

or that's what you say.

But in the fluorescent lights of a classroom
they are an icy grey, piercing through my soul.

And in the sunlight of the waterpark,
they shine like the sky: as bright as your smile.
I mean that's what you think but you're not that simple
ari Jan 2018
a trip to the waterpark

stand under a cluster of metal limbs

A giant bucket filled to its brim

finally tips

It cascades unelegantly down on our tiny heads

like the hand of god

Holding us down and pulling us up

A cleanse-

It felt good
you talk through your laughter;
you barely complete your sentences
it's raucous, rich, and resounding,
uncontainable, unstoppable, unforgettable
it goes bursting out without a warning

and sometimes tears are there, too:
the kind that makes me laugh, too,
and when i do, it's due to the joy
of being there to see you laugh:
a sight, a sound, a grounding
that makes being here worth it

and your laugh comes from your belly
and your heart is there, too
and i like to think your heart is what makes
your laugh so sonorous

and when i'm downstairs and you're up
and i can hear your laughter from the other side of the house
i can't not smile, too, and come join you
because there's this gold treasure bursting out
and i'm too selfish to let it pass without witnessing it

there is too much good there
it floods through every room
and whether i want it or not
whether i'm in a good mood or not
whether i'm playing "what's the point" or not
it wets my feet
and i'm a boy in a waterpark, skipping through the splash pads

you do that for me
your smile, your laugh, your joy
it's infectious
they're my favorite part of living with you
bluevelvet Nov 2017
A swirl of clouds
And thundering rain,
Winds ungodly and
The stench of fear and death

It is done,
Unthought of all
The memories created there
Families and love stories

I dreamt a dream,
It was us two
At Disney and universal
You asked me as a ride was ending,

"Are you having fun?"
And I couldn't look at your face
But I timidly said,

"Mostly because you are here"
And I kissed you
Where the mouth ends and cheek begins
And you vanished as I pulled back

It was over like
A hurricane and a waterpark
A memory of us
In the tunnel of love
For children who hasn't
Seen each other in a year

But you knew it was me
And I felt this pull,
I knew I would disappoint
Like I did that day
Climed to the top of Black Hole,

I remembet it now

And it was our turn,
I cried because I couldn't see
I cried because of the height
And the unknown
So my mother took me down

We went to the wave pool
And it was of luck,
Just a wave of destiny

Because I hadn't seen you
In what seemed like forever,
I wanted you there because I was alone
But you were here in the water

You were here and
I felt like home

Now it's gone
The tunnel and a piece of
Black Hole remains

What if I never cried?
Would you have looked at me still?

It's childish to remember
But you were it
And now I'm in a wave pool
Alone

Where's the tunnel?
Where's the scary ride?
The embarrassment of being scared?

You knew me
Better than anyone else,
You still do
Qualyxian Quest Jul 2019
waterpark joys
      three growing boys
              wavepool's laughing noise!
Qualyxian Quest Jul 2021
Time to debunk myself
Nought but an aging fool

I miss Seattle ferry boats
I miss Sage Ridge School

My children at the waterpark
Me alone and sad

All I really want to be
Is a loving dad

             Sweet Sir Galahad

— The End —