Urchins And Has-Beens
1.
'Clack'.
A kid throws a stone.
It hits a post in the garden
the post the kid was aiming at.
The hours of practise!
Annoyed neighbour-
Distractions arise
Another kid to play with-
like stories
The call in for tea-
in a dream.
When you wake again
'Clack'
'Clack!'
You can beat your record.
Summer passes
a kid realises
immediately as
his record is broken
the challenge remains
to break his record.
2.
Scrabbling around in warm earth like this
a sharp edge finds find blood,
one more scrape of the least consequence.
Old hands weigh a satisfying pebble
passable as a speckled egg.
Launch it unconsciously
towards the agreed target.
Let the kids gather the best stones
and throw in earnest.
Old hands are thankful for
'Clack'.
"Well Done!".
jennifer Malden
Sat 23rd May 2020 16:09
Nice one! The trouble is that one remains an urchin at heart. My husband is really embarrassed because I fly a kite on the beach, even though in the evening when not so many people are around, and help build huge sand cities with the kids, not suitable activities for eldery females!!! I would have loved a pair of rollerblades too, but they arrived too late for me. The time in hospital after breaking something would not have been worth it. Glad he hit the post!
Jennifer