“Ode to a Hammock”
(A controversial poem)
Oh hammock, Oh hammock
You fabulous thing
You hang from high branches
And with thee, I swing
Your colors they vary
With each special hue
You are your own rainbow
My own smiley ‘U’
I can spend hours
Just chillin’ in your embrace
The world whirling around me
While the campers all play
But the greatest joy you bring
Is not on your own
It’s best when you have company
Best when you’re not alone
With a friend or two or three
Just hanging at either side
You couldn’t find better neighbors than that
No matter how hard you tried
When the sun starts to set
And my energy rises
The allure of the hammock
Nearly triples in size(s)
All of my neighbors
(Or friends may they be)
Transform into apes!
Gorillas! Monkeys!
So we do as the primates
Do with such grace
Why, we swing of course!
As hard as our hammocks can take!
The trees that carry us
In our hammocks’ laps
Begin to bend and bow
They look like they’ll snap!
And just as it seems
We’ve reached the peak of our fun
Becky appears, as if
Sent from above
Her hands on her hips
She asks, “Now friends,
Does this really seem
Like the best of our options?”
She points down at a friend
On the ground with the nurse
“If you all keep this up
You’re all gonna get hurt!”
So we get a bit embarrassed
We turn a little red
Becky continues “Look,
You’ve only got one head!
I think it’s so fun
To watch you all sway
So be gentle! Please!
Don’t make me take your hammocks away,”
We all wave goodbye
As to her work, Becky goes back
And we decide all at once:
We’re just gonna relax.
We chat as we sit
In the nice sunny weather
As we joke and tease we realize
It’s nice to just be together
And really, isn’t that
the reason we came?
To have fun here at camp
with friends (No matter how insane!)
Now, when I spend time
In my little hammock town
I remember that I’m glad
Just to have my friends around
So once again, hammock,
Since this poem is for you
I’d like to say one last thank you
For all that you do
And to all of my friends
Counselors, mothers, whatever,
Thanks for making hammock time this summer
At least (1, 2, 3-) 4 times better.
-Grace Daverson, Session 4, 2018
Grace and Chloe- Junior Counselors Summer 2018
