I. Concord Skateboard Park <br /> <br />Sheltered in this smooth, round, <br />concrete nest of dips and curves, <br />obelisks and giant, Mayan steps <br /> <br />on a blind corner <br />hidden by small hills <br />from two busy streets <br />intersecting at its tip, <br /> <br />Twenty boys,8 to 18, <br />practice their moves, <br />swiveling one-pointedly <br />up and down and around. <br /> <br />Some day they’ll move on <br />from this birthing-ground, <br />swiveling down the decades <br />on a board or office chair. <br /> <br />A few girls watch, <br />Sprawled on the grass. <br />Behind them all, <br />flowering crabapples, palms, <br />then the mountains. <br /> <br />The city’s wise to have <br />invested a few bucks <br />toward its future <br />in an old, vacant lot. <br /> <br />II. A Chant To Heather Farms Park <br /> <br />Sun of fire, <br />water of lake and fountain, <br />earth whose soil sustains the lawns, <br />and air of the sweet breath of spring: <br />the four elements are holding <br />a conclave here on this Sunday afternoon, <br /> <br />drawing many families, <br />and especially, today, <br />calling forth many sounds. <br /> <br />Oh, park of a basketball's steady bounce, <br />of lovers whispering in Russian <br />and the creaking rhythm of swings. <br /> <br />Park of car engines starting, <br />of families who laugh or talk <br />in Hindi, Bengali, English, Arabic, <br />and in goose-squawk and duck-flap, <br /> <br />Park of the slide of scooter wheels, <br />of loud feet chasing the one <br />who caught the football, <br />of a hand tapping the body of a guitar, <br />and a far-off, hip-hop radio. <br /> <br />Silent with pen, <br />o park of joy, <br />I take you home on paper, <br />I take you home in my heart.<br /><br />Max Reif<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/two-california-parks-in-early-spring/
