I sit in the park and watch the leaves
shuffle along the earthen floor
The squirrels dancing playfully
like old friends
Swings once filled with happy children now empty
desserted for the new electronic age
Tree branches reach out
longing to be looked upon
They miss the weight of innocence
climbing gaily upon them
The paths are peeking out from
the new fallen leaves
And new roots are creeping..
seeping into them
But the paths spattered in concrete
shine like new
Still abused by a speed-walker or two
whose bustling swishes the leaves away
She tries out all the newest techniques
so she can allow herself to indulge later
Dinner with an extravagant dessert that
her new married lover will expect her to eat
His money cannot be wasted, he says
he has a family at home
As he later writes even the dirty motel room
off as a bussiness expense
Yes, the trees sigh - mistaking near-by
city noise for the sound of visitors
Squirrel jumps from tree to tree as their scurrying paws
tickle the branches, and the trees smile despite themselves
Someone comes, a man, walking half-heartedly;
his doctor tells him his cholesterol is too high
He paces the concrete, unhappy, submissing
but kicking at a squirrel stopped to forage acorns
A little girl trudges through the leaves
walking awkwardly on her shortcut to home
Her pack tugs at her back with
the weight of a 3 month old baby
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