Not the Country
You walk round the lake in the park.
Again. First down the hill, skidding
in the new mud that’s hidden
beneath Astroturf green. This hill
is so perfect it’s almost real countryside.
Then round the top end,
thick with trees and leaf mould.
The stakes across the skinny stretch
are mostly bare. The birds that used to sit
like hunched old men on Sunday benches
are not there. Africa, probably.
At the dam, it’s people,
wide open, the town obvious
and too real at its dirty
crisp packet edges.
Instead of the easy tarmac
you follow the mudpath.
Back one more time to kid yourself
and up the hill again.
Page(s) 19
magazine list
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