Elderberry tree at the bottom of the garden,
Climbing and falling into the nettles,
Surreptitious foray into the orchard beyond,
Bitter, unripe apples,
A just punishment for stealing.
Guilt
The den under the old plum tree,
Shared with slugs and spiders,
Made cosy with dolls blankets,
Dashing to the back porch in the thunderstorm,
Dashing back again for the sheer exhilaration of it.
Danger
Sitting on the coal bunker in the sun,
Setting fire to a leaf with a magnifying glass,
Shelling broad beans covered in black fly,
Ping into the colander,
Silky pod
A bed for fairies.
Sitting on the swing
In a triangle patch of lawn
Half hidden from the house,
The scent of orange blossom
In the dusk.
Blessed solitude
Circus on the lawn,
A tightrope plank on boxes,
Clowning around
Falling in the clover patch,
White horses galloping.
Such fun
Mowing the lawn,
Hot day,
Push, pull, push, pull,
Hard work,
Tall stems bounce back.
Scissors
Walking through the red flower tunnel
of runner beans,
Picking the young ones,
The fresh ones
Before they get stringy.
Delicious
Shops amongst the bushes,
Selling seeds,
Selling leaves of different shapes and sizes,
Selling daisies,
'Silver pennies' for money.
No customers
Mud Pies on the path,
Seaside buckets for water,
Engrossing,
The eve of a seaside holiday,
Dirty clothes.
Angry Mum
The greenhouse,
Pungent smell of tomatoes,
Warm on a cool day,
Playing in the warm, fine earth,
Sieving it finer.
Cosy
