Serpentine Paths
Today wary Canadian geese
avoid paddling screams
from lido-blue rowing boats
finding cooler shade ashore
and rich landed pickings
among flat pressed patches
of lawns below London planes
where an hour’s respite
was snatched
by shade-hungry office bodies
A flaked Royal Parks bench
holds a mother and her boys –
silent with ice cream smiles
Here we share recovery positions
as both boys bum-shuffle
to their right – making an old man’s
space
I see what I will again see later –
strangers’ glances at unknowns
Now at her clothes – her veil
I built this park – in my working days
I planted most of her trees
and laid clean sand for her gallops
I should be able to name
more than London planes
as my known path takes me
to David in Fitzrovia