by Colleen McMillan
A golden early summer sun shone
from a hard blue sky. It shone on the
paddocks of ripening wheat.
It shone on white teenage lambs
gambling beside staid mothers
still seeking green amid
the browning grasses. It shone
on a flock of white Ibis
thrusting curved black beaks
into soft soil by the dam.
It shone on the yellow Capeweed
flowers crowding around the edges
of paddocks, hiding near posts
and fences away from the farmers hoe.
And it shone on the three little girls,
one dark, one red-gold and
one blonde sitting in their midst,
making daisy chains.
At least, Colleen and Claire
were making daisy chains; carefully
splitting the stem of one picked flower
with a fingernail and inserting
the stem of another flower right up to
the head. Ann watched for a while
even tried for a while, then
her lip dropped. She was too little.
She couldn’t do it.
Her sisters, too intent
on their own activity didn’t notice
until the tears started and
she sobbed, “I can’t, I can’t.”
Partly from affection, partly
from fear of tales being told and
accusations of selfishness
they decked her with bright yellow
necklaces, bracelets and
finally a crown.
Their mother approaching saw three
little girls playing happily. Gleefully
Ann ran towards her
to be first to show her
golden wares.
© Colleen McMillan 2010
This entry was posted by cmcmillan on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Reflection.
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I really like that, Colleen. I know nothing about poetry, and can’t write it, but that’s beautiful.
Wendy
Hey Colleen
A gold medal for the beautiful Yellow.
John
Hi Colleen
I enjoyed reading your piece.
I loved the imagery of the sunshine on the farm.
And I loved the story of the 3 little girls – sad and happy and sensitive.
I can’t help thinking that you might have 2 pieces in one: a poem and a short story. Both could stand on their own.
Just an idea