Beloved Ipod In My Ear Poem by Margaret Alice Second

Realising the sun-shade did not keep the sun off my face
and worried that a hat would leave the few feathers that
serve as hair on my head in terrible disarray, I stopped
taking the delightful walks I used to take every day

But jumping in the coolness of the pool made me brave,
I put my straw hat to good use - tied with a mauve scarf
so the wind would not blow it away, Heino’s baritone in
beautiful velvet tones through my earphones; marching

To the beat of ‘Lustig ist das Zigeunerleben’ - swaying to
the nostalgic beat of ‘Die Lorelei’ I walked several blocks,
it was even better than I remembered, with the sun out of
my face and big sunglasses shading my eyes, it seemed

I could walk forever, wishing the office hours shorter to get
to the pool then march around the block again, ‘Wir wollen
zu Land ausfahren’ - not me, happy with ‘herumbummeln’
right here in Pretoria to the music in my ears, it feels

Like a meditation, no thoughts in my head, humming along
while traversing the portentous streets filled with promises
of a bright summer with unlimited potential for dreamy
walks all over town, the beloved IPod in my ear…