Long Kew Poems

Kew Gardens Spectrum

In Kew Gardens I feast on				
daffodils and swans and honk-				
ing geese in turf protection mode				
and one spectacular show				
from a strutting peacock’s tail,				
its color chart exploding					
against the day’s gray weather.		
	
On warmer days Kew is packed				
with mums and dads and kiddies				
running about or being pushed 				
in prams. Today’s marginal 			
weather has cut the numbers.				
I am drawn to a park’s promises		
in crowd depleting weather.					.							

In youth I’d sit on a bench 			
beneath a chestnut tree and feel 			
fully protected from rain 				
by the natural umbrella 				
of thick leaves above my head			
or, barefooted, tramp through wet 			
grass after the midday storm.												

In the misted gray of not				
quite Spring Kew Garden isn’t 			
in full bloom but I can feel				
the promise of warmer days and, 				
with luck, the persistent need 				
of a peacock to impress 				
his ladies with the full bloom					 
of his magnificent tail.