Has there ever been a sky painted
so deep a blue as that day
I was sat upon the melting black tar
poking holes for the adults to despair at.
The sun, a ball of magnificent flames
branding his name into the pale skins
of the wild children out from dawn till dusk,
in the days when the street lights kept time
and text messages came in the form
of the smallest children pinging
between playspots through the
Abandoned streets of poverty.
A sky so dark it fiercely roared
so bright it encaptured imaginations
so angry it promised storms
yet no cloud in sight
just the gentle swish of a summers breeze
tickling through the cornfields
and the distant echo of solitude
as we melted into our surroundings,
languid and swollen with inactivity
as we collectively prayed for the rains,
in the form of pennies found for a new hose pipe
or paddling pool, water guns or balloons so we could hydrate our souls.
But I digress into the days canvas
was there ever a sky as blue as that day?
Empty streets scattered with the remains
of the lunchtime rush,
Abandoned, thud – less footballs
crying dolls in plastic buggies with empty bottles
and dry nappies dressed in woolen tights,
bonnets and dresses fiercely wrapped in knitted blankets
… And bikes left foolishly strewn across street corners.
A bike lays abandoned,
shroud in the rose Bush shade
where I retreat for a moments breath
I am five,
I am timid and shy
and yet to learn how to ride.
Was there ever a sky so blue
as that day
no one there to applaud or cheer
or push or balance me
no one there to celebrate my
coming of age.
… Just that roaring blue sky
So deep it embraced my
mind in tender kisses,
etching itself into the recesses
of memory, between the
spearmint mojos and daisy chains ready to be re-painted
in the drop of a moment…
Just me and the whistling heat shimmering
across my horizon dancing between
busy buzzing bees and fluttering delights
Just me and those burning handlebars
beneath soft tender fingers
just me and the scorching seat against bare legs
just me and peddles never known
Just me and that bike.
I forgot to breathe for a millisecond
of time,
as I lost myself in the bikes motion
beneath that roaring sky
So dark I wondered
who had gotten the heavens so angry
So dark I believed the end was imminent
So dark, my inner voice rose
drawn to it’s promises
of magnificent power…
… Has there ever been a sky
so blue, as that day…
Karen Hayward ©2018
Image and words
blossomsworld 