FAY AND THE DAY IN THE PARK.

A BOY AND GIRL IN A LONDON PARK IN 1950S.

Baruch took the bus

to Kennington park

he wanted to see

a different place

away from the usual

the familiar sights

and people

he had brought

Fay along

having paid

her bus fare

and saying

they’d not be late

(she worrying

about her father

getting home from work

and finding

that she'd not

completed her

school essay

on The Ten Commandments)

and also

that she was with him

(whom her father

termed the Jew boy)

and he said it was better

if she never saw him

which was impossible

as they lived

in the same

block of flats

and went by

each other

on the stairs

but her mother knew

and said

to keep it quiet

and gave Fay a 1/-

for an ice cream

and drink of cola

they walked around

the park

she gazing

at the flowers

and butterflies

and birds

and he imagining

Injuns about

to pop out

of the bushes

or over

the small mound

(he called a hill)

on their mixed

coloured horses

and firing arrows

from their bows

or shooting

from rifles

and as he walked

he patted

the 6 shooter gun

in the holster

hanging

from the belt

of his jeans

( hidden

by his grey jacket)

she talked

of the nun at school

who slammed

a wooden ruler

on the palms

of girls

who didn't know

their catechism

all through

and the girl

who had her

legs slapped

for wearing

her school dress

too short

(she'd outgrown it

and her parents

couldn't afford another)

and he talked

of the cowboy film

he'd seen the other day

where the cowboy

wore his two guns

back to front

so that he had to

cross hands

to reach them

and still out drew

the bad guys

and which he wanted

to practice until

he had it just right

she listened to him quietly

taking in

his hazel eyes

the wavy hair

and that

bright eyed stare

and he listened to her

gazing at her

as he did so

at her fair hair

held in metal hair grips

her blue eyes

her pale complexion

that nervousness

she seemed to have

as if her father

was going to leap out

at her from a bush

and the bruise

on her upper arm

he'd seen

when she removed

her cardigan

having got hot

in the midday sun

and after walking around

for a while

and then sitting

looking at some

old guy feeding birds

with broken bread

they bought two ice creams

and bottles of cola

and she said

a grace in Latin

and he mumbled

some Hebrew prayer

and they sat licking

and eating

and drinking

and once she kissed

his cheek shyly

and said they'd

best get home

before her father did

and he saw her

with him

the upstairs Jew

(as her father

termed him)

and gave her

what for

as soon

as she went

timidly

through the front door.