At the park siblings fall,
parading their love to the throng
they crash in limbs and kisses
to the bottom of the playground slide.
Aged matrons pass by,
charioting their mobility scooters towards the pond
to feed some aquatic friends.
A habitually helicoptering mother
buoyed by sudden pride,
stands up to offer a hand but her eldest,
the daughter,
flicks it away.
“We don’t want you!”
Suddenly, the ducks scamper.
Their wings chart an uncertain trajectory across the sky as
the matrons contemplate the empty water; one nibbles a bread crust.
Coming to a silent agreement, they click the gears into reverse
and leave with the screams of youth in their ears.
* * *
–> At the Park won The Ellen Gudrun Kastan Literary Award in 2009.
Tags: Karen Andrews
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