Snow Melt

Remembering Labor Day Celebrations

Fidál (Grace), 7 Asma (Names), 165 B.E. – Monday-Tuesday, August 26, 2008 about 6:25 PM Pacific Time

This is a brainstorming entry. I am attempting to remember Labor Day celebrations from my childhood. The problem is that I cannot remember any special thing we did for Labor Day. I associate hot dogs and watermelon with both Labor Day and the Fourth of July. So I suspect that we went picnicking on Labor Day.

My grandparents had a mobile home at a lake near Blackwell, Oklahoma. I cannot remember the name of the lake. When we went there we always said "We are going to the Lake" or "We went to the Lake last weekend." No name was ever mentioned because it was assumed that when you spoke of The Lake you meant the one near Blackwell.

I can do research to find out the name of the lake, that is not my problem. My problem is that I cannot remember anything special about Labor Day weekend. I think Grandpa may have been off work that day, but I am not sure about that.

How do I write a poem about a holiday, which has no special memories for me? I could take another approach to the Labor Day poem. I do not need to put childhood memories in with the exception of hot dogs and watermelon.

For Labor Day Poem

My grandfather grew watermelons
We ate hot dogs with mustard and relish
We fished
I am giving blood this Labor Day

Those are the only things I have come up with so far. Perhaps I should choose a poetry form. Using a specific form usually helps me when I am not sure what approach to take with a poem. I like working with poetry forms because they stretch my talent and make me work harder to get good results.