Roundabout

That wedding day they left me with an aunt One at a time, stole surreptitiously Into the Ford. 'You stay. We simply can't Take children too.' They packed me off to play Down at the pleasure park. The dismayed sun Soft as an orange, gave the game away Squirreling up the chute at first was fun Or watching others swallow-tail on swings Slumped on a roundabout that barely spun Creaking as mayflies rose from pools in rings A slow procession in the sultry heat Late afternoon. The world was hatching wings The roundabout revolved. On foxy feet Dark padded from the trees below the hill Others went home. Left on the turning seat I watched the harebells shiver in the chill The night airs rattle at the barley's ear It seemed I sat a century until `We might have known you'd still be sitting here Your aunt was worried stiff ' Now, all are dead Their speech, their ways, dry flowers on a bier Live in the roundabout inside my head.