Interlaken, 1976
by Reggie Morrisey
Windows swing wide open to the cool night air.
Cars triple park at Crestwood Station.
Sleigh trains go chugging down Toboggan Hill
as raccoons delight in basement hibernation.
Morning means a rush to catch a bus or train.
Prayers and incantations start cold cars as
icy paths and roads lead to a chancy game of
reaching destinations free of scars.
Brisk business for the pharmacists of Main Street.
Just hardy souls pm streets these chilly days
as colds and coughs and flu and sneezes
descend on us in must unsubtle ways.
An empty beach awaits the warming sunshine,
the children's voices and the grown up sighs
while courtyards in their gleaming crystal stillness
give pause and quiet pleasure to our eyes.
The yards disguise themselves as private skate rinks
where hockey games are played each afternoon.
And mothers doomed to bouts of cabin fever
dream of winter's end, of springtime and sweet June.
O-u-u-u-u-t now!