The Park by Crystal Peak

When I was a little girl of 6,
Nana would sit me on her knee,
And nuzzle my ear and whisper tales,
Of days she was young and carefree,
“The fields were green and grassy,” she said,
“The sky was clear and blue,
There were always games to play,
And friendly people to speak to,
We used to play in a park down the road,
With slides and benches and swings,
We’d ride our bikes, play with our toys,
And other fun little things,
Lots of children would play there,
From ages four to fourteen!
Mama never worried about me though,
The park was safe, the park was clean,
The swings were painted yellow,
The slide was painted blue,
The see-saw was painted red,
There were lots of things to do!
There were pretty flowers to look at,
And trees if we needed shade!”
And then Nana would tell me,
About all the games she played,
Now I’m a little bit older,
(Ten years to be precise),
I decided to go to the park,
And see it with my own eyes,
The sky was dark and cloudy,
The fields were brown and dark,
I saw a broken slide, and a swing with no seat,
Not really much of a park,
Children laughing and playing,
They were there no more,
They were probably watching the TV,
Sitting on their living room floor,
A female walked past with a pushchair,
In which a toddler sat,
I looked into the mother’s face,
And then I started at that,
Wearing high-heels and a mini,
Even though it was bitterly cold,
And covered in bright purple make-up,
Was a girl that was fourteen years old!
I diverted my gaze to the see-saw,
Only to have it meet,
With graffiti and similar rubbish,
To the packets swirling round at my feet,
It was there on that lonely November,
That I sunk to my knees and cried,
I’m glad Nana couldn’t see this,
I’m glad that she died,
I’m glad that her childhood memories,
Went with her to her grave,
I’m glad that the place that she loved,
As a perfect place she could save,
When the rain began to fall,
I rose from the floor,
And walked to my home in silence,
Loving this world no more

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