Sunday, June 27, 2010

960. WHEN THE MORNING PARADE COMES KNOCKING

WHEN THE MORNING
PARADE COMES KNOCKING

'What did you have in mind?' I heard her ask, playfully.
'Setting the moon on fire, destroying the rays of the sun,
whitening the sky of morning with justice, cutting off
fame at the knees. Is that a good enough answer for you?'
And then the funny man with the summer hat and
the owlish glasses came over and - holding his
scavenger-hunt clipboard, said, 'Can you help me
with this clue, but don't tell anyone else? Whose
garden was looted for this hedgerow and trees?'
I answered, since I knew, and continued sitting down.
'George Washington's at Mount Vernon. The little
plaque that says so is right there, beneath that bush.'
I pointed about 30 feet away where, in fact, it was.
He bent down to peer, wrote down his answers,
and thanked me twice. 'All life should be that easy.'
I said that to her, but she was already gone.

1 comment:

Claire Vimala Anderson said...

God, she missed it!
Don't MOST of us...