Seurat

At first

The black umbrella

On a sunny afternoon.

Shadows lengthen

As the day begins

To unwind

Green leaves rustle,

Green shade falls

Across the green grass

Murmurs of grown ups

And cries of children

But mostly quiet.

People sit

And stand

And sit in the lengthening afternoon.

Dogs snuffle

And scuffle

Always getting underfoot.

Out of the frame

A couple sit apart,

The afternoon spoilt

By a tiff

I only caught

The end of,

As the shadows lengthen

And the day begins

To unwind.