Journey with John Stokes

Monday, August 25, 2025

Stoked life

I see my Stokes ones

and I only want to warn them

if they knew the stoked life

as I

and the temptation

and other such hurdles

confronting the

stoked life

they’d be well served

to stay in their

Orander wear.

First kill

First Kill

Johnclarestokes

I proudly shot daddy's Purple Martin that day

Not knowing they kept mosquitos at bay.

Mamma told me, Quickly! Go bury the bird!

And to your father not breath a word.

I dug a hasty grave behind the shed

Then hid the Red Rider under the bed.

Each evening I looked in fear as Martins flew

That somehow daddy counted and knew.

Such the guilt on a little boys brain

That a tiny bird could cause such strain.

Years passed, the Martin houses rotted and fell

Now I'm old, but bless mamma, she never did tell!

The first kill haunts us through our days

Till at last, Martins keep mosquitos at bay

Above our graves.

Mashes Sands

Wish we could always reign in

Mashes Sands

Johnclarestokes

I do not know how the sand

came from Mashes Sands

to my sand pile in Sopchoppy

But my father got it there

And it was my kingdom

My perimeter I only left

whenever I would swing

and jump past the pure sandy

Border

Flying about up into the evening

Til I heard mamma calling me in

And I would park the fleet

Open the sluice gates

Post the real plastic army men

With strictest orders

To guard the Mashes Sands

Kingdom in the county

Wakulla

The township

Sopchoppy

the state Florida

Ruled by the kindly

Tow head king,Jumpy.

Drogue drift

Drogue Drift

Johnclarestokes

You could call it the bitter end

of the rope

the point beyond where the fire

fused the strands

the unraveled part that did not

go through the ring

In the taunt the line turns astern

in a vertical load the lift

as the sea claw is freed

then a straight yaw as the

drift begins

Into the beam sea they go with

memories of mooring

Above the laughing terns

mock the folly

In cabin crafts they ply on

in dead reckoning

Paying the price of anchors rejecting.

Gentle man

Gentle Man

John Clare Stokes

My the splash you made upon the shore

Nearly drowning us in your under tow

Losing the glasses just bought from the store

Leaving us spinning in surf to and fro.

You were born for greater shores than these

We imagined you as a Tsunami wave

Raging to a boil from Oriental seas

Lifeguards frantic the many to save.

Instead you came gently to the shore

For not all waves are born to kill

A playful push to the ocean floor

Came so far just our joy to fill.

Thirty-six years hence we stand

And as a new wave roaring comes

We brace and clutch our glasses in hand

My how you splashed our gentle man.

Landon Randolph Stokes

August 25, 1988

Ride Dino

Johnclarestokes

In the land before time of man

The dinosaurs roamed the land

Creatures larger than imagination

Primordial acts of Gods creation

Our little son rode his plastic dino

T Rex tamed by a young Lando

At night the stories were read

Of lands where giants tread

A wallpaper was finally found

Now the creatures did surround

Years passed and so the theme

Dino deflated with the dream

The dinosaurs were covered in brown

With deer and bears all around

Later, Danny and Gator glory

Then Tebow's inspiring story

Next came Kelly and the ocean blue

Surfboards galore of every hue

Finally to shades of modern gray

No hero found to guide the way

The little hawk with wings had flown

We paused to recall the Dino song

Yesterday, the gray border tore

Revealing faint tracks gone before

We chose not to repair the Dino print

The priceless uncovering of a lost moment

Ride Dino! Ride Dino! Happy song of the boy!

The layers of a life peeling back to reveal the joy!

Landon Randolph Stokes with his son Nathaniel Manoa

August 25, 1988

When Melanie and I were dating, we went to the Okeefenokee. I was too cheap to rent a boat and motor and she never let me forget it. After we were married, I wanted to make amends for my cheap ways. I made certain when we returned to Okeefenokee that we rented a boat!