Back From Vacation I spent some time at the Jersey Shore last week, a well needed respite from work. On vacation I did some reading walking on the Boardwalk, photography, and did something I have not done in quite some time, I wrote a poem.

So here it is...

Bike Ride For Bagels

Weaving through walkers,
Surreys moving slowly,
Runners huffing,
Checking their pulse.
Wind to our back.
Down the ramp.
On to the sidewalk,
Waiting for red lights,
Riding through green.

Coffee, coffee, coffee,
Half and Half, Sweet 'n Low,
Oatmeal Raisen Cookies.

Sitting on a bench,
My wife and niece shop,
Families walk by,
Talking.
Sisters?
Or Mother and Daughter?
Pidgeons perch on top of windows.
Sparrows sing in the trees
Or peck at crumbs on the sidewalk.

Couples walk by,
Hand in Hand,
Or just talking.
Relationships have become,
What Relationships are.
They speak to each other in a code
Borne of familiarity.
Phrases bring back memories
Of Children,
Trips,
Of other hand-holding walks,
Of love different then, than now,
Of families grown and moved away,
Or just starting life together.
Relationships are,
What relationships have become.

Back on the bike,
Up the ramp,
On the boards again.
Riding against the wind
Gliding the bike comes to a stop
Quickly.
Young girls in tanktops approach,
Breasts swaying seductively as they pedal.
Concentrate on what's ahead,
Not what is approaching.
Weaving through walkers,
Surreys moving slowly,
Runners huff and puff,
And check their pulse.

Down the ramp,
Over the uneven pavement.
Cobblestones...
Ow, Ow, Ow...
Onto the street,
Into the alley,
To
Home.

  ¶ 9:49 AM