People Watching in the Park

Sun shining on the water, children playing ball; splash!! The ball lands in the middle of the pond. How to get it out they cry? Fetch a stick or better still a broom to make the ripples form -- gradually the ball drifts to the other side, but, its still out of reach; "use your shoe",-- just reaches we have it,-- hooray.

Daughter comes with elderly mother in a wheel chair, mother has had a stroke and finds it difficult to speak, "feed the duck" she says slowly with effort, straining to get the words out, bread is thrown, she smiles, and they go on their way.

The ducks have had their fill of bread for today and ignore it: --Plop!!, what was that? It’s coming from under the water -- fish jumping for the bread the ducks have left. Watch, see the ripples, as if someone had thrown a stone, watch again there and there.

Dragonflies flittering to and fro, jewels gleaming over the murky pond, sunlight catching their reflective wings and bodies.

How many people have notice this or cared? Too few I fear, too few. -- But I have seen and appreciated.

Someone see the chair beside me as I sit there watching life in the park, "is this chair taken" "no"; we start to talk, she is on her lunch break, just fruit and a cup of tea, fruit doesn’t attract the pigeons you see. She finishes and moves on. Someone else looking for a shady spot, "here take this chair it’s vacant now."

I move away to another part. Walking through a shady arbour taking photos as I go. Sunlight seen through the shade, framed there for all times in my picture.

I round a corner and there by the bigger stretch of water, someone has got out their paints and capturing the scene with colour and wash, peaceful while her child plays. I capture the scene too with my camera and move away not to disturb her.

I am pleased with my afternoon in the park, photos and thoughts and words down on paper now. Sometime I will use this and perhaps, just perhaps someone else will appreciate it and see the beauty.