“All of my friend have

Dirt bikes and quads

And all I’ve got 

Is a broken down old

Lawn mower.”

Someone gave Jamie

A 1972 Murray riding mower

Without a blade.

Jamie loves old things

That don’t work;

He sees them

As having a spirit

And he wants to save them

Like saving a stray puppy

Found at the side of the road

And nurse them back to health.

Jamie worked on his mower;

He and his friends 

Rode bikes to NAPA

To get parts;

Or sometimes bought parts

At the hardware store next door.

And the mower ran

And then it didn’t.

He cleaned out the engine

And replaced a spark plug

And it ran.

So he went “mudding”

In the Valley

With Chris on Chris’ quad

And the mower went through the mud

And up and down hills

Just fine

And broke down on the way home.

He replaced the spark plug again

And bought “Seafoam”

And cobbed a new exhaust.

And did who knows what else

And it ran.

One day, I was doing laundry;

I looked outside

And there went Jamie

On the sidewalk

On his riding mower

With a red Radio Flyer wagon

Hitched behind

And Chris and Frank in the wagon.

They’d ridden all around town

Waving at people

Who waved back

And smiled

And offered them peace signs.

And now Jamie is known

As the Lawn Mower Boy.