What A Wild Wind Today
What a wild wind today
in Wimbledon Park,
80 mph they say,
mischievous, shameless,
wild child, it cannot distinguish
between fun and destruction
here in the park
it does what it can with the boating lake;
but the ripples are barely waves,
and the boat club has wisely shored its boats,
no fun to be had there
but wait – here’s a woman with a covered pram
walking along the path beside the lake…
the crafty wind dies down, then
one huge gust – whew, that was a near one,
she’ll remember that next time..
now it’s spotted three laughing nuns – what fun!
it tries to lift their skirts – it knows no shame
in its innocent fun; it would most like
to turn them into whirling, spinning dervishes in black;
instead, it catches their veils, as they, laughing
as if they are being teased by their own sweet Lord,
as Krishna (would they know) by milkmaids -
turn this way and that to avoid it;
they look like startled magpies, now like
laundry on the convent clothes-line;
it would love to make them into
divine helicopters
now it’s looking round the sports field;
the cricket ball’s too heavy, no fun there;
it does its best to be twelfth man
in a soccer game, but lacks the patience
to do more than bend it to the goal; it hasn't learnt
to pass, dribble, stepover, show off..
but now it spots the tennis courts and
uses all its thwarted bowler’s skill
to turn the service and return
to swing this way and that;
the teenage boy, eyes sparkling,
joins it in the fun, a double act,
wins point after point in this windy game;
a few scarved spectators cheer on his skill.
the wind is nature’s free testing kit;
[...] Read more
poem by Michael Shepherd
Added by Poetry Lover
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