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