On a Wednesday After School

On a Wednesday after school, five children play hide
and seek in Nana's garden. The It chases her cousins
like mad, under the mango tree, around
the pool, over the bikes. He is fast
but she is quicker and she catches him

On a Wednesday after school, Camille leaps from underneath
the avocado tree. The It lunges toward the ledge, her hands
gripping on the stones. The fingers of her right hand
slip, and everyone hears a snap. The running stops.
All is quiet, except for a hurt child's crying.

On a Wednesday
after school, five cousins are scared.
Scared of the It's swollen right hand. Scared
it was broken forever. Scared to play
hide and go seek again.

On a Wednesday
after school, an 8 year-old child runs
to her Mama. She was the injured It andher right hand has become a throbbing
red hide and go seek battlescar.

On a Wednesday after school, a mother kisses her right
hand, kisses away a tear from her right cheek, wraps
her in a blanket and whizzes her off in a green station
wagon to a hospital where a doctor and his purple popsicle
sticks make all the pain disappear.

On a Wednesday after school, our garden is scared.
A stone ledge fears it has injured a child beyond repair.
An avocado tree worries it will never be a hiding place again.
The garden is scared that children's feet will
never run on grass, or climb on trees again.

Story ID:	1592
Written by:	Tish Valles (bio, link, contact, other stories)
Organization:	The Writing Salon
Story type:	Poem
Location:	Clifden Ireland
Year:	2006