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      You are here: Home / Arts / Excess Day in the Village of Essex

      Excess Day in the Village of Essex

      May 19, 2015 By Jeff Moredock 5 Comments

      Flea Market/Yard Sale Items (Credit: Pixabay)
      Items for sale (Credit: Pixabay)

      On the eve of Excess Day
      Husbands and wives
      Can be heard
      Bickering back and forth
      Trying to determine whose excess
      Must leave the house

      Husbands cling to old rods and reels
      Wives insist they need their curling irons
      Small children hide balls and dolls
      They haven’t played with in years
      Dogs hide their worn-out chew toys

      But when dawn breaks on Excess Day
      The sidewalks are lined with the
      Detritus of daily life
      Fishing reels curling irons balls
      And dolls and much much more

      The crowds sweep down the street
      In search of bargains treasures or
      Just something they don’t have
      And don’t need or so say
      Husbands to wives
      And wives to husbands

      Flea Market/Yard Sale Items (Credit: Pixabay)
      Items for sale (Credit: Pixabay)

      By mid-day prices begin to drop
      As the crowds begin to thin
      Books bird houses bar stools
      Pottery paintings and more
      Fly off the sidewalks and
      Before long the day is ended

      One family’s excess is now another
      Family’s excess and sure to be seen
      Next year on the
      Other side of the street

      Jeff Moredock, June 2013

      [This poem is included in Jeff’s poetry anthology, Poems from Essex & Elsewhere. Visit “Excess Day in the Village of Essex” by Jeff Moredock” to watch a video of Jeff reciting this poem.]

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      Filed Under: Arts Tagged With: Essex Day, Excess Day in the Village of Essex, Jeff Moredock, Poetry

      About Jeff Moredock

        Bred and buttered in Dry Tavern, PA, Jeff Moredock was, before he gainfully retired in 2004, a farmer, folksinger, minister, teacher, coach chaplain, headmaster, and a chief operating officer. Married to a saint, he and his wife, Etta, have two children and four grandchildren. They have been summer residents of Essex since 1980.

        He first began writing poetry in 1979 when he was the head of North Country School in Lake Placid. In a fit of scotch-fueled frenzy he wrote a long narrative poem that included the names of the school’s 87 children, 25 teachers, 10 staff members, and countless community pets. Read aloud at the school’s annual Christmas dinner, it received sufficient praise to encourage him to continue the practice through his career as headmaster at three schools. More poetry followed, most often poetic testimonials for various friends’ birthdays, weddings, and retirements.

        Poems about Essex started to bubble up about the turn of the century, and since then he has written more than a dozen, all noting and celebrating people, places, and events in and around Essex. He has published a collection of poems, Poems from Essex & Elsewhere and a collection of short stories, Nine Holes, Nine Lives: The Front Nine. He has also written an unpublished mystery novel, A Zebra in the Lake, set in Essex. Suffice to say, he loves words and he loves Essex.

        Reader Interactions

        Comments

        1. Katherine O'Hara says

          May 19, 2015 at 8:26 am

          What is the date for Essex Day ?

          Reply
          • Katie Shepard says

            May 19, 2015 at 2:27 pm

            Essex Day is usually the first Saturday in August and that is the case this year: Saturday, August 1, 2015. Keep an eye on this website and calendar for announcements!

            Reply
        2. Cameron says

          May 19, 2015 at 2:05 pm

          When can we read the Zebra in the Lake? I badly want some good pulp from the Great Northern Grist Mill!

          Reply
        3. eveticknor says

          May 19, 2015 at 8:25 pm

          Jeff, you have been mightily missed! As has your pen. We are glad both of you are back ( You too, Etta).

          Reply
        4. Jeff Moredock says

          May 21, 2015 at 4:32 pm

          Excess Day is the exact same date. Amazing! Zebra In The Lake needs a bit of updating before it goes

          Reply

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