"I Still Remember that House" by Johny Widell

I Still Remember that House

Kansas.  I can't remember much

About living there,

Not the street

Or even the neighborhood.

But I remember that house,

The sky, the big green lawn,

The swingset where I encouraged

My little sister to climb

The ladder to the slide.

She chickened out at the top,

Tried to turn around, but fell

And broke her leg.

It was 1968 - so she must

Have been 3,

And I was 5.

I know it was 1968

Because Dr. King got shot

When we lived in Ft. Leavenworth.

I remember that because 

My dad was a student

At the Army War College.

His table mate was Colin Powell.

My dad said, "They're really

Raising Cain up in Kansas City,"

And I didn't know what that meant.

Captain Powell said, "He was a good man,"

And my dad agreed.

The Missouri River must not

Have been far away.

I remember the clouds and the wind,

The steep waves on the river

And a red and white diver's buoy,

Bobbing on the surface -

And learning that someone was down below,

Down below those dark waters

On that dreary dreary day.