Haunting Happiness
By KC Bailey
Re-play Ground
The children play
giggle, skip, hide & seek
joyous faces
twirling, Hula hooping
crisp cotton shirts, slate grey shorts
and September dresses
crowns of daisy chains
in free-flowing hair
chase, chatter
hopscotch on worn concrete
running with arms outstretched
pretend pilots – school boy Spitfires
friendly games of football
bundled up jumpers mark the goals
ecstatic youthful exuberance
within the grounds, behind ornate gates
their expressions remain the same
clothes never change, or fade
same boys, same girls
defy age
repetition of action
stuck in a pattern
day begins and ends on a chime
from the old bell tower
where nothing has hung or rung
for over a century
caught in a continuum
ad infinitum
in their world, another day
from our eyes
ghosts of childhood.
Tormented
There we will learn
Once again
How to be children
How we were children
Sweet voices
Silent smiles
Echoing
Pulled away
Laughing, laughing
Happy to be
Until you realise
They’re laughing at me.
