What do you notice on a spring
afternoon
after school?
Of course I noticed flowering trees
in splendid pinks that if painted would be critiqued
not realistic enough
the grass is green
It’s spring
the grass is long
I need to mow

Also the clerk at Trader Joe’s said
“Awww
I’m going to miss you-
I liked talking to you”
as she loaded my last bag in my cart
handed me my receipt
and I thought that even though my teens don’t
exactly like to chat
at least someone likes talking to me

I saw people drive by in a Volkswagen convertible beetle
top down
in the front seat was an older man
holding a wooden pirate ship
almost exactly matching one
my son got at an antique store years ago
that my other son recently took a picture of
on top of an amazon box
to use as a metaphor for a school assignment
and I thought that if someone is trying to send me a sign
with pirate ships
that is kind of confusing

On my walk through the park there was a kid
maybe eight years old
scooting his scooter around the track
staring up at the blue sky
there were clouds — but the pretty kind
He exclaimed
“This
is
America!”
at least I thought he did
I was listening to my audiobook

What do you notice on a spring
afternoon
after school?

This is April and today’s poetry was inspired by Ethical ELA’s Things to do: Write a Poem