Blue Bicycles Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

one day we were riding our blue bicycles
only around the block
how I wish I could stop the clock there
but life moves on
bicycle bells fall off
and how could they find us in the fog
the stage scenes change so quickly
golden leaves then bare trees
never the same leaves pasted back
on blue bicycles or on poster board with markers
we could have stopped time
and had extra peppermint ice cream
once in our jumping rope rhymes
and especially at Christmas, with the dolls
or on a day when we wished for jade rings
but the wind drifts us, the wind turns to squalls
as if we were leaves ourselves
and the wind swells like ocean swells
while we were just out collecting shells
until we wake up
with no more theme papers to write on
how we spent the summer;
sun drenched,
in other rooms.

mary angela douglas 24 september 2023