The Kissing Gate

A very important appointment,
Must hurry!
He'll wonder if I'm late...
Oh bother! Traffic!
Skirts swish
Along the footpath
Out of the way!
Time...ticking...
Please, don't leave!
Step aside please-
I'm to marry tonight!
Shh...it's a secret!
Wonderful day for a...
I must hurry!
Farmer Powell's pasture is near-
Almost...
Picked daffodils earlier,
Just for the occasion...
Careful not to crush them...
Cross the street,
turn the corner
horses scream
Women faint
Men running
Out of control
Out of time...
Blotting out...
Tick, tick, tick
Trodden daffodils lie
Broken in the street.
Sunlight glistens off
The spinning wagon wheel.
As a bloody bonnet
Lies forgotten in the
Dusty street,
A lover checks his pocket watch,
Sighing,
Evermore to wait by
The Kissing Gate.

Danielle Baker
-3/6/93