“At the Playground” by Marcie Lynn Tentchoff
“I’m only making up
for time I’ve lost,” she says,
skipping past the jungle gym.
“There never seems
to be as much
as I had thought.
And I have plans!”
She pauses, throwing chiding grins
towards schoolboys
pulling schoolgirls’ hair.
She pushes one tot on a swing,
and catches one who starts to slip,
then leads a merry game of tag,
while parents smile complacently.
“I think,” she said,
“I’ll go to Rome,
seduce a an artist,
write a book,
and still be back in time for work.”
She hunkers down,
and stops to comfort
one small girl
who’s skinned her knee.
“Which one is yours?”
a mother asks.
“Oh, some of each.”
She grins again,
and leaves the children
far behind, while hoarding
all their stolen time.
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Marcie Lynn Tentchoff lives on the west coast of Canada with her family and other strange creatures. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in such publications as Star*Line, Polar Borealis, and Polu Texni, while her latest poetry collection, Midnight Comes Early, will soon be released by Hiraeth Publishing. Marcie edits Spaceports & Spidersilk, an sf/fantasy magazine aimed at middle grade and teen readers. |