Scenic Park

Walk in the Park

A lot of things can change in a century;

parks seem to be one of those things—

and museums. Take this painting for example;

when is the last time you took a walk in the park

and found a nude woman? Or the last time

you saw a nude woman? With a skull?

With a cross? With both? What was she doing

there? No picnic, or perhaps it’s out of the picture.

And they don’t permit wine in parks these days,

so what would be the point of a young man

lucky enough to meet such a beauty,

alarming as it is to find her mooning over

some stranger’s skull. Perhaps it is Hamlet’s

skull? Her countenance recalls his broodiness,

but then how to explain the cross? And why

a cross of reed? Not gold. Not wood. Reed . . .

This is what I shall ponder Saturday afternoon

when I sneak a bottle of wine and a walk in the park.

David M Pitchford
30 April 2008