Swingers

Come try this, Sissy!

She has been spinning around on the tire swing-
Round and round,
Smile getting wider with every rotation,
Hair swirling behind.

Her sister is intrigued.
She hops down from the play structure,
Abandoning her castle and its subjects
To join in the game.

With two the fun is
Amplified.
Smiles turn to giggles.
Giggles turn into waves of laughter
That cascade over me as I reach my hand
Into the swirling rainbow of color
To grab on to the chain link
And provide more thrust for their endeavor.

Just when it seems as though they will want to spin forever,
An abrupt "stop" is called for.
They dismount and walk two
Separate erratic lines.
Their balance left behind on the swing -
Now abandoned,
That continues to slowly rotate
As its former occupants wander off
Continuing their daily fight against
Gravity.

Playground Science

The kids clamber over the playground
Like ants on a drop of melted ice cream on the sidewalk.
There must be intent at the heart of their activity,
But from without it looks like chaos.

The children form a nucleus
About which the parents flit in an electron cloud.
As uncertain as Heisenberg's principle if they will be needed
At any moment to swoop in and dust off
Knees caked with dirt and wood chips or
Kiss a boo boo on an elbow.

The at home mothers act as if they have known each other for years
Despite meeting just minutes before.
They engage vigorously in conversation about baby names and the unseasonable weather.
The at home fathers barely make eye contact with each other,
To socially embarrassed or deconditioned to even offer each other,
"Nice beard."