"A day of rest"

(Composed in the park on Martin
Luther King Jr.'s Birthday 2009).

Half a dozen young ladies reading,
Lounging in the afternoon sun,
With their picnic blankets spread
And empty Starbucks coffee cups.

A little girl, no more than four,
Skips through the grass in her purple pants,
Giggling at the terrier wrapped in his red sweater,
Trotting on the path, his owner tethered to a leash.

A little boy peddles on his bright yellow tricycle,
Huffing and puffing in his attempt to mount the hill,
And big maple leaves float from their lofty branches,
As birds hop along the edge of the low bushes.

Blurs of color, pink and blue, catch my eye,
As a flock of children descend the grassy slope,
Rolling, toppling, and tumbling into each other,
Laughing at the silly, spinning world.

An ant crawls onto my journal, trying to find his way.
Walking across the words, zigzagging along,
Gently I guide him with my ballpoint pen
Back to the grass from whence he strayed.

The setting sun lends an amber glow
Silhouetting birch trees scattered on the hill,
While families, after a day of rest,
Gather together and start the journey home.