Saturday, March 18, 2017

At the Park (Poem)

dusk on a late summer Saturday
the sky pearlescent in blues and pale lemon
clear as flowing water; the evening star
shining steadily with its planetary light

the dog pants and laps at spilled water under the drinking fountain;
the child spies a friend and sprints away
to join a group chattering in Russian and Arabic
whirling fast enough to fly on the whirligig

a mother in an abaya swings a tiny toddler in a bucket seat
and a family barbecues sausages, the smell overtaking everything

down on the oval, a mixed spaniel breed chases a tennis ball 
the frenzy of joy in every twisting bounce
just barely out of reach of the cricketers training on the pitch

a man and two small boys hit shuttles back and forth
the ground littered with the small white objects

babies fret and are soothed, while preschoolers chase each other 
and the air trembles with life
laugh cry injunction affection gossip comfort longing memory hope

earth turns, and darkness comes;
but not here.
not yet.
not quite yet.

- Kathy, 18/03/17

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