Hartman Park

 

Hartman Park is a dense little forest,

of towering pines and sprawling maple.

The soft new grass is fresh and moist,

Its blades tease an early spring beetle

 

A kid brother in the play-set nearby,

Shrieks at his older sister; the girl mellow n

forgiving as the pliant grass under me,

Their grandma smiles, serene under the sun

 

Sprawling down I look up, the wind whistles,

Shivering yet from the memories of winter;

Amid the tall green pines are patches of blue,

And a huge flotilla of white clouds astir

 

The clouds puff and heave, restless,

as though they still own the heavens.

The breeze – gentle but firm – prods 'em on,

Pushing them to the horizons

 

A vast sky lit up and low, beckons me to rise,

and feel the peace of my eternal home.

A brawny pine – or is it my hand? – soars straight up

Past the clouds and touches the deep blue dome!

 

 

Abhay B. Joshi

April 2014