Leaves

I walk through the park
kicking the leaves that
lay before me

the trees are bare now
and there's a pleasant chill
to enjoy

a football bounces on the path followed
by a fat man
who puffs and wheezes as he chases
the ball

I sit on a bench
take out a book
and light a cigarette
the book rests by my side
as I watch the autumn

a dog sniffs at my feet
and runs under the seat
the wet fur brushes against
my legs

wind picks up a white plastic
bag and I watch as it dances
to a grotesque tune

in the empty playground I recall
falling from a slide in another
playground in another time

I think of my mother
picking me up and kissing
me better

my father drinks in a pub
by a park
as a child
I would sit outside
drinking orangeade
and eating salt and vinegar
crisps

as the sun departs
I
leave