AARP

The retired Pied Piper tried to forget

What he did to village children

Sat on a park bench and thought

There was much to learn from a pond:

The way it does not flee away to the sea

The way reflected clouds and trees don’t pollute water

The way a stone will skip before it realizes it can’t swim

The way tiny waves replicate to shore

The way insects shimmer in swarms above the surface

The way turtles come up for air or fish rise to see the sky

The way the heron stalks the shallows

The way a bull frog calls, “I’m alone, come find me”

The way children cast a line for the monster that always gets away

The way a bright green tennis ball gets caught in weeds too far out to be retrieved

The way dead leaves drift quietly until they drown

The retired Pied Piper tried to forget and couldn’t

He threw his flute in the water and asked

The rats not to turn states’ evidence

11-17-21