Author’s Note: Tradition is like a mighty river; no matter how vast its depths, no matter how calm or turbulent its waters, the river always has a beginning and an end. Provoked by questions over my need for over-priced ice cream, “Dippin’ Dots” is a conscious dive upstream, an attempt to traverse through memory and time to find the beginning of the river, to find truth in the mountain’s snow, and to understand why change feels so much like a waterfall.
Dippin’ Dots
Every time I go to a theme park, or game,
I get chocolate in the largest size, those
melting marbles of sweet tradition,
dancing across my tongue through
a temporal gate to those summer nights
at Harbor Park, when the Norfolk Tides
still played AAA for the New York Mets,
and their all-star catcher Mike Piazza
was in town because of a pulled groin;
those nights when I was a true fan,
armed with a blazing smile, leaning
on the seat’s edge, and sandwiched
between my parents, as Number 31
stepped through my first baseball card
found in a box of Cocoa Pebbles,
into the flesh and blood of Waterside
District, granting this eight-year-old’s wish
like Robin Williams playing the Genie,
while my hands held onto a blue bowl
shaped like a helmet, full of dippin’ dots,
in a time when baseball was pure
as spoons of ice cream and family,
together, gave the night its spark;
a time before the Tides changed teams
and Piazza retired his mitt, a time before
the Genie hung himself, and my wish
for only one Christmas melted away.
⧫
A.J. Granger is a graduate and former Centennial Scholar of James Madison University with a BA in Media Arts and Design. His poems have appeared in Red Weather, Gardy Loo, and Black Fox Literary Magazine. Currently, he lives in Norfolk, Virginia where he dabbles with photography and voice- over while vigorously at work on his first collection of poems.
Over its 15-year history, Delmarva Review has published new literary prose and poetry from 490 authors from 42 states, the District of Columbia, and 16 foreign countries. Forty-six percent are from the Chesapeake and Delmarva region. Financial support comes from tax-deductible contributions and a grant from Talbot Arts with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council. Both print and digital editions are available from Amazon and other major online booksellers. The print edition is also available from regional specialty bookstores. Website: www.DelmarvaReview.org
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