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Child Play

As a ...

	child I was carefree 
		played in the mud 
			football my hero
				goals from the foot

	teenager I had worries
		imagined and real
			twisted illusions
				hands on the trigger

	young man I searched
		for a pearl in the shell
			submerged in an oyster
				cracked abalone dreams

	midlife contender I built castles
		fortresses and embrasures
			aimed for dubious targets
				carried quivers and arrows

	midlife defender I proceeded
		octopus in smudged mind
			jellyfish in a broken soul
				starfish bereft of shine

	comet in waiting I flickered
		pondered the milky way
			approached reflections
				condensed my approach

	fading asteroid I wandered
		questions unanswered
			responses transcended
				beginnings of ends

The path took me ...

	to a compass with no needle
		the chart lost on the way
			with a pocketful of marbles
				and a hole in my trousers

	away into an underworld
		a cess pool of promises
			an anchor rising above
				shredded sails on the mast
	
	to a point of surrender
		white flag crusted in salt
			the earth as a rainbow
				horizon in waves

	a tool kit of memories
		scraped knees once again
			scabby wounds healing
				shedding my score sheet

The aging child ...

	needs no referee 
		no penalty zone
			no final whistle
				no chalk in the dirt

	thrives in the mud
		balls up or not
			shelters a mussel 
				opens the drawbridge

        back to the square root 
	        equating adventures
		         the circle half finished
			        I pump up the ball

                                I moved a few goal posts
	                 changed my position of play
		removed strings from my boots
	walk the pitch back to the roots

Childish or a bit wiser but carefree at last ...


16th May 2020

Copyright © Kai Michael Neumann

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