Sprocket

Sprocket is a series of breathless prose-poems capturing poet Al Rempel's childhood adventures spent roaming free in the idyllic setting of Arnold, BC, a small farming community tucked into the corner of Vedder Mountain, near the US border. Each poem presents a snapshot of one or two memories, sometimes involving the author’ s siblings, his two “ summertime only” school friends, or any number of other local characters. From climbing up the mountain “ with handholds wet with moss and banana slugs” to finding the best way “ to run full blast through a cornfield just before harvest,” Rempel takes his readers through an age where, as long as you were home by suppertime, you could go almost anywhere on your bike.