THE LAKE IN WINTER – 1954
Winter’s frosty edges
Shimmied across frozen branches
And darted, military style,
Across the silvery lake
Freezing in time for school holidays.
Kids glided along the ice
In pairs or wobbly singles,
Striving for a look of confidence
To avoid childish taunting
And ridicule reserved
For stumblers.
As daylight drowned in shadow
Clouds dappled
Bullying skaters thinned out
Myrtle’s confidence grew
To try riskier twirls
Without a mocking audience.
When the whistle blew
They scattered
To heated homes,
With two parents,
A 12-inch black and white
Motorola,
Pop’s padded rocking chair
And flowered wall paper,
That screamed Americana,
Where everyone talked
And smiled,
But no one ever heard
Anything.