Jumpity Jump! Slappity Slap!
Yellow coats and rubbers!
Puddle fun has just begun
and my boots are buckle uppers!
Crisp blue lines of a paper boat
listing toward the drain….
A great white sail like a great white whale
under the pouring rain.
A boy at four, a boy at five,
at boy at seventeen….
Puddle fun’s for everyone
Come see what I mean!
Tie your hat strings under your chin,
Raise your feet and splash them down…
Proclaim the world with a great big grin
The King of Seas has just been crowned!
Oh, how she sailed the length of ever
down that distant gutter of my boyhood home.
Never before was a boat so clever
Sailing to where my heart shall always roam…..
For as to second childhood I
Draw gently near,
With happy heart I see the why
Children are dear.
© 2012 John Richter
johnallenrichter 
August 21st, 2012 at 2:11 pm
You certainly shared the joy of puddles. I used to enjoy splashing in them after a rain. Your poem brings back delightful memories.
August 21st, 2012 at 4:59 pm
oh nice…i’m up for splashing through the puddles anytime..ha…i like the playfulness..and great rhythm as well
August 21st, 2012 at 5:25 pm
What a happy fun poem
August 21st, 2012 at 6:09 pm
This is just a delight-love it. I always loved puddles 🙂
August 21st, 2012 at 8:03 pm
Playful write! We sometimes need to be reminded to embrace our “childish” tendencies.
August 21st, 2012 at 8:17 pm
Such a delight to read your poem ~ It brings back happy childhood memories ~
August 21st, 2012 at 8:23 pm
Just lovely – I especially like the pride of the buckle-uppers – so much grown up than the ones that just fastened on the sides. Very nice .k.
August 21st, 2012 at 8:43 pm
A really lovely write–well crafted and it brought a smile!
August 21st, 2012 at 9:18 pm
ah you rang such wonderful memories for me sir….i love to jump in puddles still to this day…smiles…and make paper boats and send them downt he gutter….did that not too far back with my boys…its good i got boys….smiles…
August 21st, 2012 at 11:46 pm
Perfect read for this night. It’s currently (still) raining today – causing almost everything to become flooded. I didn’t have my rain boots, that’s why I didn’t jump and play in the puddles. 😛
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Hi Karen! Coming down to Pensacola soon to visit my son and family…. I just learned that it stopped raining there and promises to be great weather during my stay…. Maybe you guys are next!
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:52 pm
OMG…. Spoke too soon. Just heard there’s a hurricane headed your way… Take care….
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:40 am
See a puddle in my view
I think that mud is eww
But then as a kid jumps in
I may consider it a win
And go with the flow
A kid at heart to at my show
Fun it can be
Going all kiddie
Maybe not for a kitty
Which is a pity
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Poor cat, no splat!
No boots, no hat….
How can he play in the puddle?
Go back to the house,
play with a mouse,
And save a little time to cuddle!
August 22nd, 2012 at 10:50 am
Aww… this bought back some happy memories of splashing through puddles for me too …lovely 🙂
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:11 pm
You certainly communicated the fun of jumping in puddles as a child. In a different climate, with those boots, I’d STILL be jumping in puddles! LOL
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Always John, you entertain the reader. There’s a picture in every line, a rhythm of the event sings through each word, and readers of any age can participate. Love how the voyage went full circle.
August 22nd, 2012 at 1:05 pm
This is fun to read, delightful… I love the progression through the years.
August 22nd, 2012 at 1:15 pm
What fun! I want to do it barefoot! Want to piddle and paddle in the middle of a puddle!
August 22nd, 2012 at 6:24 pm
And puddles NOW, John? I hope you still indulge yourself once and a while? 🙂
Such fun this.
August 23rd, 2012 at 3:07 am
Ah, this has brought back so many memories – puddle jumping, the mud splattered beyond the boots to camouflage everyhing in sight – so wonderful to experience that viscerally again.