The Picnic
Errands brought me to the village
Where menfolk meet
And ladies lunch
Then shop for dinner
Like a flock of bright parrots
These young people settled
Upon the green
Beneath the trees
To share a fish and chip lunch
The table, greensward
The cloth, crisp white paper
Candles of sunlight flickered
Through overhead branches
Music of birdsong joined
By voice and traffic
Life busy around them
At a time of life when
Adult persuasions tempt them to the core
They escaped school for time out
Together
Delighting those who saw
It was sweet with innocence
And older hearts rejoiced
This salad day moment
Re awakening hope that youth
Was not all ‘gone wrong’
With laughter bright
Respectful
They shared in mature togetherness
Not attention seeking
But safe
Content in this
Down to Earth picnic
Many murmured delight
So proud that our kids
Could do that, this way
Leaving all as they had found
Neat tidy grass
Littered only by autumn leaves
I hope they will find again
Moments such as these
To fill and refill
Memory banks
With precious moments
I hope too that I
Uncomplicated
Will mimic
Capturing the chances
On impulse
To honour ordinary moments
With an unrehearsed
Celebration of Life
Words and Photographs © Denise Stanford 2011
Within the Vine 